ELAC Women’s Basketball is Impressive in Mission Viejo
MISSION VIEJO, CA — The East Los Angeles College women’s basketball team took second place in the Saddleback College Lady Gaucho Classic VI Women's Basketball Tournament.
The No. 6 statewide-ranked (Coaches’ RPI Poll) Lady Huskies split games with two ranked teams.
After an opening round 92-47 win against San Diego Mesa College, the Huskies won 83-73 over Arizona-ranked Scottsdale Community College in the tourney semifinals and fell 56-52 to No. 3 San Jacinto College in the title game.
Two Huskies were named to the All-Tournament Team, freshman Dominique Godbolt (Fairfax High School) and sophomore Monica Garcia (Garfield HS). Godbolt had three double doubles, which included 44 points and 49 rebounds. Garcia had two double doubles, scored 48 tourney points, had 33 rebounds and a team-high three blocked shots.
Godbolt leads the state with an average of 16.3 rebounds per game (RPG). Her 6.2 offensive RPG average is third best in the state. Garcia leads the Huskies in scoring and averages 16.5 points per game.
Against Mt. San Jacinto, the Huskies were down 41-32 with 5:09 left in the third quarter then went on a 12-3 run and tied it at 44-44 after three.
Mt. San Jacinto returned the favor with a 6-0 run during the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. ELAC pulled within one, down 50-49 with 3:49 remaining in the game, but Mt. San Jacinto closed out the game with a 6-3 run.
Against Scottsdale, the Fighting Artichokes built a 17-5 lead with 4:31 left in the first quarter. ELAC freshman guard Jennifer Pool (Legacy HS) scored a buzzer beating jump shot at the end of the first quarter and the Huskies led 22-21, which was their first lead. Eight lead changes and six-ties ensued during the next two periods. Garcia made a jump shot with 1:29 left in the third quarter to give ELAC a 59-57 lead and the Huskies never looked back.
Against San Diego Mesa, the Huskies led from start to finish which included leads of 31-7 after the opening frame, 52-18 at the half and 66-42 after three quarters. ELAC Head Coach Bruce Turner played his entire roster in all three games.
Pool and sophomore guard Teoncea Bennett (Milwaukee, WI / Riverside University) each had a team-high eight tournament steals, while Pool and freshman guard Jaelynn Curley (AZ / Ganado HS) each had a team-high tournament nine assists.
The Lady Huskies next compete in the 34th Annual Lady Charger Classic at Cypress College, Dec. 1-3 with the possibility of playing against three ranked teams. The eight-team tournament includes four ranked teams including No. 1 Palomar College.
ELAC plays No. 12 West Los Angeles College on Friday, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m.
Cypress College is located at 9200 Valley View St, Cypress, CA 90630. Parking is in the rear of the campus. Look for the sign “Gym I & Gym II Parking.”
Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index and ELAC Huskies Athletics Facebook.
story submitted by Tadzio Garcia