CYPRESS (Interstat) — Marina Leiva scored 19 points and the Cypress Chargers used a decisive second-quarter surge to pull away from Long Beach for a 66-37 victory in a women’s junior college basketball game Tuesday.

Long Beach led briefly early, taking an 8-7 advantage on Zariha Smith’s layup, but Jahasharee Moore answered with a layup that put Cypress ahead for good. Leiva opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, Kaylene Vivo added a layup, and Cypress later closed the first quarter with a 6-2 spurt. The Chargers then broke the game open in the second. Tamila Fanene scored inside, Dallyn Knox hit a 3-pointer and added a layup, and Leiva made free throws as Cypress built a double-digit halftime lead. Long Beach never recovered.

Alexis Gutierrez kept Long Beach close early with a layup and free throws, and Saniya Keyes made free throws across the first and third quarters. But Cypress answered each time. Fanene repeatedly scored inside, and Knox’s perimeter shooting stretched the defense. Vivo’s layups in the third quarter helped Cypress maintain control before Leiva’s fourth-quarter baskets.

Leiva, the game’s top star, finished with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block in 24 minutes. Knox added 15 points and five rebounds. Vivo had eight points and eight rebounds, Fanene scored 10 points with seven rebounds, Moore contributed seven points, five rebounds, two assists and three blocks, and Syri Prevo grabbed eight rebounds to go with four assists. Jailah Pineda added four assists for Cypress.

Riyah West had four points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block for Long Beach. Smith added five points and five rebounds, and Hannah Fuentes scored six points. The Vikings struggled to sustain offense against Cypress’s size and rebounding. Long Beach’s offense never found a rhythm from beyond the arc, and the Chargers’ work on the offensive glass kept the pressure on.

Cypress shot 27 of 68 from the floor and 4 of 22 from three-point range, while making 8 of 23 free throws. Long Beach shot 14 of 53 overall, missed all 12 of its three-point attempts, and made 9 of 15 free throws. Cypress won the rebounding battle 51-28, including 22-10 on the offensive glass. Long Beach had 16 assists and 22 turnovers, while Cypress had 12 assists and 21 turnovers. Long Beach committed 20 fouls, and Cypress committed 15.

Cypress scored 66 points from 78 possessions, an offensive rating of 84.7. Long Beach scored 37 points from 72 possessions, an offensive rating of 51.3. The Chargers also recorded four blocks.

Knox’s back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter helped Cypress finish off the win after Long Beach had trimmed the margin with a late third-quarter push. Robyn Raqhiel and Fuentes helped spark that Long Beach run, but Cypress answered with Leiva and Vivo scoring near the basket. Leiva scored consistently around the rim and from the free-throw line, and Cypress’s offensive rebounds produced extra possessions throughout the second half.

Cypress, which opened the season with a 95-45 win over Sacramento City, improved to 2-0. Long Beach, which has lost to Mount San Jacinto, Palomar, Laney, Antelope Valley and Merritt, fell to 0-6. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cypress 62, Long Beach 54, and its ELO system had projected Cypress with a 98.4 percent probability to win. Cypress next plays at Sierra, while Long Beach next plays at Moorpark.