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The Lancers women’s basketball team took home the third place trophy in Glendale’s tournament over the weekend after a double-digit win on Thursday against Fullerton, a painful loss on Friday against Ventura, and a blowout win on Saturday against College of the Desert.

Pasadena was clicking on all cylinders in the third place game against the Roadrunners and held a 20-point lead after one quarter. By halftime, the lead was at 29 and the Lancers didn’t look back. The game ended in Pasadena’s favor, 93-46.

Interim head coach Gary Potts said he wants the team to keep the mentality that the pace of the game should be set early to get an advantage on the opponent.

“I think we played well [the whole tournament]. Even though we lost against Ventura, there’s a difference between losing and getting beat, and we felt like we lost it,” Potts said. “We missed a lot of shots and missed a lot of free throws we normally would make. [On Saturday] we said to ourselves that we are here for a reason and to fix those mistakes from last game and come out stronger. That’s why we started the game with a full-court pick-up so we can get a faster pace and get the game going.”

Ventura went into the tournament ranked No. 2 in the South Region according to the CCCAA Preseason Poll behind last season’s runner-up, Mt. San Antonio College.

Friday’s loss to Ventura was a battle from the start but the Lancers played from behind the entire game and couldn’t catch up. The result was a 68-61 win for the undefeated Pirates.

Point guard Judith Espinoza and center Kailyn Gideon were in foul trouble for most of the game and couldn’t get in a rhythm on the court.

Espinoza said her team’s effort was high but they couldn’t prevent Ventura from making their shots.

“[Friday], from the jump ball, I knew it was going to be a fighting game the full 40 minutes,” Espinoza said. “Ventura gets my respect. They are a really good team … [Saturday] we were more patient and smarter. We moved the ball more. I had four fouls [against Ventura] so I sat out a lot. Overall, I think we learned a lot and we will take it from there.”

Ventura had three players with double digits points, including their starting guard with a game-high 25 points.

Thursday’s win against Fullerton was a battle in itself but Pasadena was able to get it done by forcing 24 turnovers and holding them to a low shooting percentage. The Lancers pulled one step closer to a first place finish after the first round win but couldn’t continue the momentum. Pasadena defeated Fullerton 54-41.

Blanc said her team played well during the tournament but didn’t finish where they needed to. She said she has a high standard to meet and feels like “I don’t meet my potential” if she doesn’t reach the standard.

“I think we started the weekend very strong,” Blanc said. “With Fullerton, we played strong against them. We knew Ventura always has a good team so we were trying to beat them but we couldn’t get past the stretch of being down by 10, keeping up the pace and cutting the lead down. [On Saturday], we did well. Next tournament we strive to get first place.”

The Lady Lancers record is 5-2 overall and their next game is in the College of the Sequoias Tournament starting on Thursday Dec. 3.

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