Women’s Basketball advances past Mission College in 2nd round of the NorCal Regional Playoffs

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(Ethan Anderson/The Inquirer)

Freshman guard Jasmine Kong (center) scores a layup during the Viking’s sophomore night game against Modesto.

George Elias, Staff Member

It wasn’t the prettiest of games that the Diablo Valley College women’s basketball team have played so far this season, but they were still able to come out with a dominant win Saturday night against Mission College at a score of 85-42. The win advances the Viking’s to the NorCal Regional Final round.

Before the game it was announced that the Viking’s had three players named to the Big 8 Conference First Team; forward Leilani Moncrease, guard Daisha Abdelkader, and guard Jahnay Anderson.

To add to their feats, sophomore guard Zahria Hendrix won the Conference MVP making this the 3rd in a row for DVC according to the women’s basketball website.

The Viking’s with its talent heavy roster saw another pair of teammates go off for big nights. Hendrix and Moncrease led the way for DVC. The Conference MVP proved why she was voted most valuable doing it all for the Viking’s in tonight game finishing with a dominant triple-double. She finished with 20-points, game high 24-rebounds,11-assists, and 5 steals. Moncrease had a strong night herself ending up with 20-points, 12-rebounds, and 2-blocks.

Guard Jasmine Kong says “Zahria is a key piece in our offense the way she can score, rebound, and facilitate when drives through the paint and kick the ball out to our shooters is big, she’s a beast.”

Leilani was also force to be reckoned with down low doing a lot of the dirty work, snatching rebounds and making her presence felt on both ends of the floor throughout the game with her physical toughness and length.

When asked what Moncrease meant to the team and the impact she makes on both ends of the floor, Hendrix said, “Her rebounding and scoring is always good for us as she opens up the floor for our shooters on the outside as teams are trying to work on her down in the paint.”

Defensively the Viking’s managed to dominate, putting pressure on Mission every time they inbounded the ball. The full court press that the Viking’s did every time defensively put a lot of pressure on their opponents offense and consistently not giving them any room to breath. They held Mission to a minimal 12-points in the whole first half and finished with a 42-point win.

Although they finished with a dominant win, head coach Ramaundo Vaughn wasn’t as satisfied with the sloppiness the Viking’s played with throughout the game. The Viking’s turned the ball over 18 times despite the win. Vaughn said “We didn’t play well at all but we played with quickness and we were the better team.”

The next round of the playoffs will be at home for the Viking’s where they will face-off against Sacramento City Saturday,March 9 at 7:00 p.m.