ELAC Women’s Basketball takes Second Place in Santa Clara

SANTA CLARA, CA —  The East Los Angeles College women’s basketball team opened the season with a runner-up finish at the Mission College Tournament today.

No. 5-ranked ELAC (South Region Preseason Poll) lost 76-62 to No. 5 (North Region) Sierra College in the championship game.

The two teams are no strangers to big games. ELAC was Elite Eight last year while Sierra made the Sweet 16. The year before, ELAC was the state runner up and Sierra was Elite Eight.

Sierra got revenge for its 74-69 loss to ELAC in the semifinals last year of the City College of San Francisco tourney. The Wolverines did so by outscoring ELAC 20-11 in the second period. An ELAC comeback was squelched in the fourth quarter as Sierra outscored the Huskies 26-22. Sierra took 22 more shots during the game.

Two ELAC forwards had double doubles. Freshman Dominique Godbolt (Fairfax High School) scored 19 points and had 14 rebounds, 11 off the defensive glass. Sophomore Monica Garcia (Garfield HS) also scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds, nine from the defensive boards.  Freshman guard Kimberly Peraza (Downey HS), who returns to the squad from the state runner-up team, also scored in double digits with 13 points. Garcia matched Sierra’s blocked shots with three.              

ELAC won a 75-69 battle against No. 6 Diablo Valley in the semifinals yesterday and won 86-61 vs. Modesto Junior College in the opening round on Friday.

In the win vs. Diablo Valley, ELAC led 37-34 at the half and outscored the Vikings 19-9 in the third quarter. ELAC led 56-43 entering the final quarter. Diablo Valley rallied, but the ELAC defense kept them at bay for the six-point win.

Godbolt had a double double with 18 points and 20 rebounds with an amazing 13 from the defensive boards. Three other Huskies scored in double figures, sophomore guard Teoncea Bennett (Milwaukee, WI / Riverside University) scored 15, freshman guard Jennifer Pool (Legacy HS) scored 14 and Garcia scored 12 points.

The Huskies had four blocked shots, two from freshman forward Marlee Berry (Polson, MT / Polson HS). Pool had a game-high seven assists. She averages 6.0 assists per game, sixth bet in the state.

In the big win against Modesto, the Huskies led 25-11 after the first quarter and 46-18 at the half. ELAC had a season-high 52 rebounds, 15 from Godbolt.

Godbolt averages 16.3 rebounds per game, second best in the state including 10.3 defensive RPG, fifth best in the state.

Four Huskies scored in double figures, Garcia with 20, 14 from freshman guard Jaelynn Curley (AZ / Ganado HS), 13 from Peraza and 10 points from sophomore guard Destinee Anaya (Irving, TX / MacArthur HS). The Huskies had 21 assists and 18 steals.

The Huskies compete next in the Lady Gaucho Classic at Saddleback College, Nov. 16-18. The eight-team tournament includes six ranked teams.

The Huskies open play against San Diego Mesa College on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. The winner faces either No. 10 Saddleback or Arizona Western College on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. ELAC’s game time on Saturday, Nov. 18 will be posted at ELAC Huskies Athletics on Facebook.

Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia