After a historic, record-breaking career at Pasadena City College, 2-time, All-State selection Dariel Johnson signed a NCAA Division I scholarship offer to attend and play at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Tuesday.
A season that started with promise, high expectations and early success came to a sudden end Friday as the South No. 10 seed and state #14 ranked Pasadena City College women's basketball team couldn't generate enough offense and lost to #7 seed/8th-ranked host Mt. San Jacinto, 58-47, in the second round of the SoCal Regionals.
Sophomore forward Dariel Johnson has had a storied career in her two seasons for the Pasadena City College women's basketball team. Johnson keeps collecting hardware and it was no different this past weekend. Johnson was first named the 2019-2020 South Coast Conference North Division Player of the Year and was then picked All-State First Team for the second consecutive season.
With a conference title seemingly in its grasp, the visiting Pasadena City College women's basketball team watched in disbelief as Mt. San Antonio's Mina Guevera-Goss sank a 3-pointer with 1:19 left to erase a Lancers lead and helped the Mounties capture the 2020 South Coast Conference North Division crown, 50-46, Friday night. PCC will have to wait another year to break a streak of now 13 straight years without a conference title.
The planets aligned Wednesday night for the Pasadena City College women's basketball team. The Lancers downed Los Angeles Trade Tech, 63-57, and learned at game's end that Mt. San Antonio had been routed by East Los Angeles, 68-50. That means the two teams are tied for first place, and sure enough will have a rare regular season finale where the South Coast Conference North Division championship is the ultimate prize when PCC plays at Mt. SAC on Friday, Feb. 21.
It was a case of let me top that on Friday night. After East Los Angeles somehow erased a 6-point deficit in the last 25 seconds capped by a buzzer-beating 3-point bomb by reserve guard Ryan Terry to send it to overtime at 63-63, the Pasadena City College women's basketball team found itself facing defeat in the 5-minute, extra period.
A defensive chess match worked in favor of state #8-ranked Mt. San Antonio as the Mounties ended the #11 Pasadena City College women's basketball team's 4-game win streak and took sole possession of first place in the South Coast Conference North Division race, 55-47, Wednesday night at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium.
During the program's run of seven consecutive trips to the state tournament from 2004-2010, including the CCCAA state title in 2009, the Pasadena City College women's basketball team always had 3-point shooting as part of the Lancers repertoire. But that ability to make the outside shots has been a problem spot for recent PCC teams.
In the last several years, the East Los Angeles College basketball gymnasium has been a Huskies horror house for the Pasadena City College women's basketball team. Going into Wednesday night, the Lancers had lost six straight games at ELAC, including a remarkable three times losing to the host Huskies in the SoCal Regional Playoffs.
While the Pasadena City College women's basketball team welcomed the return of sophomore point guard Cosette Balmy after missing seven games due to injury, the Lancers All-State, all-position letterman Dariel Johnson is heating up at the right time. Johnson reached a 20-20 for the second straight game as state #16-ranked PCC rolled past #13 Rio Hondo, 71-55, Friday night in the South Coast Conference North Division opener.
In recent weeks, All-State forward Dariel Johnson has been not as involved in the offense the way head coach Joe Peron would like for his state #13-ranked Pasadena City College women's basketball team. After scoring just 38 points in her last four games combined, DJ picked up her game by matching her season highs in points and rebounds with a 20-20, double-double in the Lancers' 63-54 win at El Camino College Friday night.
With injuries to a pair of key sophomores, the state #13-ranked Pasadena City College women's basketball team thrusted a pair of freshmen into the starting lineup Friday night with sterling results. Guard-forward Pamela Gonzalez scored a game-high 17 points and point guard Kaniya Hill added 12 points and four steals to lead the Lancers over Cerritos, 68-35, in a South Coast Conference crossover game.
While things have been a little rocky for the state #13-ranked Pasadena City College women's basketball team in recent weeks, the 11-4 Lancers are excited to have two new members of the program's 500-point club in sophomores Dariel Johnson and Cosette Balmy.
Merina Latu matched a team season-high of 29 points but the scoring bonanza wasn't enough for the state #13-ranked Pasadena City College women's basketball team Saturday night. Host Glendale, ranked #7, picked up its first-ever win over a Coach Joe Peron Lancers team, 71-61. The Vaqueros were 0-5 previously against PCC in games going back to the 1996-97 season.
An inspired group effort led by the dynamic duo of center-guard Dariel Johnson and point guard Cosette Balmy helped the Pasadena City College women's basketball team sweep all three of their games at the LA Harbor Round Robin Tournament Dec. 13-15. The pair were picked to the All-Harbor Tournament team.
In the past seven years, Irvine Valley College has been a thorn in the side of the Pasadena City College women's basketball team. After PCC held a 9-0 edge in the head-to-head matchups going into 2013, the Lasers are 4-2 now against Lancers teams in recent meetings after a 66-52 win over PCC at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium Wednesday evening.
Clutch plays, clutch victories have been a big part of the history of Pasadena City College women's basketball under head coach Joe Peron since he began directing the program in the 1996-1997 season. On Nov. 23, the Lancers added to that storied list when Merina Latu drained a 3-point bomb with 10 seconds left in overtime to give PCC a 60-59 victory over Merced and the Santa Ana Tournament championship.
It was the home-opening tournament unveiling the refurbished Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium floor and the Pasadena City College women's basketball fans and PCC coaching staff enjoyed the home cooking in winning the Chick-fil-A Classic played Friday and Saturday.
The Pasadena City College women's basketball team has consistently been a state upper-ranked team and playoff threat under long-time head coach Joe Peron, now beginning his 24th season. The 2019-2020 Lancers should be no different with the return of All-State First Team multiple-position player Dariel Johnson and All-South Coast Conference First Team point guard Cosette Balmy.