By Justin HAGER

In one of the most thrilling games in recent memory, the Glendale Community College Vaqueros fell just two points short of advancing to the third round of the California Community College Athletic Association Southern California championship. The Vaqs entered the matchup as the No. 5 seed in the tournament and slightly favored over No. 12 seed Cypress. And despite having home-court advantage that featured a raucous crowd of GCC student athletes and former Southern California high school teammates, sloppy play put GCC down by as much as nine in the first half.

After the half, GCC came out strong, dropping a one-two punch of three-point shots and aggressive baseline play that kept Cypress off balance and put the Vaqs within one point with less than two minutes remaining in the third period. But Cypress refused to surrender and ongoing challenges with unforced turnovers and too many second chances for Cypress on the offensive boards made the game feel all but over in the final period as Cypress led by 13 points just two minutes into the fourth and final period.

However, GCC standouts Vicki Oganyan and Jesni Cooper weren’t going down without a fight. Recognizing an opportunity, Oganyan connected with Ani Boyajyan standing alone under the hoop for an easy layup. Moments later, a no-look pass from Oganyan to a driving Cooper made scoring look easy and set the crowd roaring. Forward Kayla Wrobel added to the energy with a dominant block to give the ball back to the Vaqs who now trailed by only seven. Subsequent drives added two more three pointers to make it a two-point game with just seconds remaining in the game.

After that, it all came down to free throws. An intentional foul by GCC sent Cypress to the free throw line with a chance to put the Vaqs away. But after making only one of the two shots, Cooper drew a foul on a three-point attempt, sending her to the line with the chance to put the game into overtime. Moments later she had drained all three free throws and the Vaqs were still alive.

The game would come down to free throws once again as Cypress led 68-66 with 58 seconds remaining in the overtime period and missed two free throws that could have sealed the victory. A quick score by GCC tied the game at 68 with 12 seconds remaining. However, just as Cypress’ offensive rebound had given them the lead earlier in the game, they would also seal their victory as a second-chance score gave Cypress the win, 70-68 as time expired.