Pomp and circumstance were on full display Feb. 23 as the sophomores for the GCC Women's Basketball Team were honored before the home regular season finale against Antelope Valley College. The pomp included crowns made of roses for the honorees as the players walked onto the gym floor with friends and family to have photos taken under an arch made of card and gold balloons to a cascade of applause and cheers from the crowd. But when the pomp concluded, the circumstance led to the Lady Vaqs taking care of business as they closed out an undefeated 2024 WSC Championship Season, their fifth straight title,  with a 72-50 win over Antelop Valley College. The victory and 26-2 overall record for Glendale propels them into the Southern California Regional Playoffs as the No. 3 seed with a home game Saturday March 2 at a time TBD.

 

It mattered little that five sophomores started the game instead of the usual lineup as Glendale achieved a wire-to-wire victory that sealed a 14-0 conference slate as they showed off their usual mixture of balanced scoring and stingy defense. Four players scored in double figures with sophs Osanna Tirityan and Paola Gorgeiz leading the way with 14 and 11 points respectively as Tirityan had a game high seven steals and as well as five rebounds and Gorgeiz had a game high 11 rebounds. Malia Ulery had her usual solid game with 13 points, three assists and three steals off the bench and Evelyn Birau had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals as a reserve as well.

 

Glendale will play the winner of a first-round playoff game Wednesday Feb. 28 between visiting Los Angeles Valley College and the home team from Pasadena City College.