Behind the women's basketball team's 71-61 victory at Rio Hondo College on Wednesday, Lancers head coach Joe Peron tied Hall of Fame softball coach Sandi Iverson for the most victories ever by a Pasadena City College head coach in all sports, men and women. Peron reached win No. 562 in his 26 seasons in charge of the program.
Iverson (1979-2006) reached her total over 27 seasons.
"I was looking forward to tying the record earlier in the season, but I'm glad that it happened tonight with this group of ladies and my current coaching staff," Peron said. "Sandi was a great colleague and pillar in our athletic division. I have much respect for her and the record she set while coaching at PCC."
Peron also said that "it was fitting" that two women's sports coaches achieved the wins record in this 50th anniversary of Title IX. Peron took over the women's basketball program in 1996-1997 and since then he coached the 2008-2009 Lancers to the first-ever state championship in women's sports history at PCC. Peron also directed the program to an unprecedented run of seven straight appearances at the CCCAA State Championship tournament (2004-2010), including three appearances in the title game in 2004, 2005, and 2009.
Peron has an opportunity to earn the coaching wins record outright this Friday when PCC hosts Sophomore Night against East Los Angeles. Tip-off for the regular season finale is 5 p.m. at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium. Fans will have a chance to win food prizes during a halftime shooting contest sponsored by Chick-fil-A.
The Lancers climbed back above the .500 mark at 14-13 overall and moved into third place in the South Coast Conference North Division at 3-4. Winners of three of the last four contests, PCC beat both LA Trade Tech and Rio Hondo after losing to them in the first round of conference play.
Against Rio Hondo, Maiya Villanueva hit a 3-point basket at the first half buzzer for a 32-26 Lancers lead. The Roadrunners tied it at 50-50 by the end of the third quarter.
To open the fourth quarter, Villanueva drilled a 3, then Naomi Turner scored a basket-and-one to put PCC ahead. With less than six minutes to go, Villanueva again swished a 3-pointer to extend the advantage to 61-53. The Lancers defense took over from there as they recorded the 10-point victory.
Villanueva, an All-SCC First Team selection as a freshmen, scored a game-high 21 points, tying her career high with eight rebounds and adding five assists. It was the first time she reached 20 points in the new year and her six treys tied her 2022-23 season high. It is the ninth time in two seasons she tallied 20 or more points.
Turner, an All-SCC Second Team forward as a freshman, broke out of a tough scoring slump with 17 points plus five rebounds and three steals. Turner had averaged just 6.1 points over her previous 14 games.
The performances of the two lettermen took some of the pressure of center Tena Ikidi, who collected her 21st double-double of the season on 12 points and 13 rebounds. She blocked six shots.
Another sophomore, defensive-minded forward Emily Trinh, did something she hadn't done in 26 previous games this season--reach 10 points. Trinh added six boards and three steals. Reserve guard Bryannae Robinson added six points and backup center Tatiana Ayala provided a late-game spark as she totaled five points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
"We've been patient with Maiya and Naomi's recent shooting slumps," Peron said. "When they produce like they did tonight, we are a completely different team for the better. Add in Emily's scoring and Tena's consistent offense and that gives us options. We can't allow opponents think they can throw a double or triple team on Tena in the post and get away with it."