11:30am | Long Beach City College has been named the No. 7 seed for the upcoming 2012 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Women’s Basketball Southern California Regional Playoffs. With a top-eight seed, the Vikings earned a home game and will host No. 10 seed Cypress College on Friday (Feb 24) at 7 pm in a second-round playoff game at the LBCC Hall of Champions Gym.

Long Beach returns to the playoffs for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2005 and 2006. Under second-year head coach Michael Anderson, LBCC compiled a 19-6 overall record this season and finished fourth in a tough South Coast Conference with an 11-5 mark.

Despite the fourth-place SCC finish, the Vikings earned their high seeding with numerous quality non-conference wins and the fifth-highest RPI rating in Southern California. LBCC picked up wins over playoffs qualifiers Fullerton (No. 6), Chaffey (No. 8), Saddleback (No. 9), and Cypress (No. 10).

In conference play, LBCC was 0-2 against No. 1 Mt. San Antonio, 0-2 vs. No. 5 Cerritos, 1-1 against No. 4 East Los Angeles, and 2-0 vs. No. 15 Pasadena.

Long Beach’s opponent on Friday, Cypress, enters the postseason with a 20-9 overall record and was co-champions of the Orange Empire Conference with a 10-2 mark. Early in the season on November 23, the Vikings edged the Chargers by a final score of 49-40 in Long Beach.

The winner of Friday’s game will advance to Round 3 and face the winner of No. 2 Ventura and either Pasadena or No. 18 Antelope Valley. Three wins are needed to advance to the CCCAA Women’s Basketball State Championship on March 9 and 11 in Sacramento.