ELAC defeats LA Valley College 89-84 in Overtime

SAN FRANCISCO, CA —  The East Los Angeles College women’s basketball team won an 89-84 thriller in overtime against Los Angeles Valley College at the City College of San Francisco Wellness Center.

As a result, ELAC won Third Place in the Golden Gate Classic Tournament in its seventh game this season against a Top-20 statewide ranked team. No. 9 ELAC improves to 8-4 overall and No. 16 Valley drops to 9-7.

Freshman forward Dominique Godbolt (Fairfax High School) and sophomore forward Monica Garcia (Garfield HS) were each named to their fourth straight All-Tournament Team.

Godbolt scored 46 tournament points, had 36 rebounds and two blocked shots. Garcia scored 40 tourney points, had 25 rebounds, 11 assists and two blocked shots.

Also leading the Huskies were freshman guard Jaelynn Curley (Ganado, AZ / Ganado HS) who recorded 47 tourney points, 11 total rebounds and six steals. Equally impressive was sophomore forward Stevi Hall (Harrisburg, PA / Harrisburg HS) who only played in two tournament games yet scored 41 points and had 11 total rebounds.

The see-saw first quarter ended with Valley on top 16-15. ELAC was outscored 20 to 15 in the second frame and was down at the half 36-30. The Lady Huskies outscored the Lady Monarchs 20-13 and led after three, 50-49. Down 10 points in the fourth quarter, ELAC rallied and sent the game into overtime. The Huskies outscored Valley 14-9 in the extra period.

“It was a good win,” said ELAC Coach Bruce Turner. “We showed poise in a really good team effort anchored by Dominique (Godbolt) and Stevie (Hall).”

Godbolt scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds, her 10th double double of the season. Hall scored 22 points and had eight rebounds. Curley scored a season-high 17 points and finished with five rebounds. Garcia raked in a double double with 14 points scored and 10 rebounds. She also had a team-high two blocked shots.

Freshman guard Jennifer Pool (Legacy HS) had a team-high six assists and sophomore guard Kimberly Peraza (Downey HS) had five assists for ELAC.

For Valley, sophomore guard Rebecca Islas from Boyle Heights scored a state-high 48 points. She had had a double double and finished with 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Farrah Castillo, a Husky on last year’s Elite Eight team, finished with 12 points and a game-high eight assists.

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story submitted by Tadzio Garcia