Courtesy SCVNews.com

College of the Canyons women’s basketball head coach Greg Herrick has won his 500th career game at the college, as the Cougars defeated L.A. Trade Tech College 80-65 on Friday night in the opening round of the 2014 Moorpark College Classic.

With the milestone victory — which comes on the five-year anniversary of Herrick’s 400th win — COC improves to 5-2 on the season, and advances to the second round of the tournament’s championship bracket.

Wins, and the honors that come with them, have been plentiful during Herrick’s 22 years at the helm of the COC women’s basketball program.

Since taking the job prior to the 1992-93 season, his teams have been crowned Western State Conference (WSC) champs 14 times, earned 21 postseason berths and advanced to the state championship tourney five times.

During that span Herrick has been named WSC Coach of the Year eight times.

With Herrick still roaming the sidelines on Friday, Canyons battled to a 37-35 lead at halftime — despite trailing early in the opening period.

The second half would be a different story, as COC forced a number of Beaver turnovers and begin scoring points in droves.

Sophomore point guard Qimmah Russo turned in 25 points to go with seven assists for the Cougars.

Freshman Julie Ilsby finished with 11 points as the team’s second leading scorer, while sophomore Amber Evans and freshman Brittani Larry each finished with 10 points.

Evans was a force in the paint pulling down 10 boards to complete the double-double. Sophomore Nayiri Aslanian also made her presence felt with 12 rebounds.

The Cougars will try to give Herrick career victory 501 on Saturday, as Canyons faces tourney host Moorpark College at 5 p.m.