ELAC Edges Rio Hondo, Stay in Playoff Contention

by Cerwin D Haynes

Having lost twice to Pasadena City and Mt. SAC, East LA College women's basketball could ill-afford a loss to a four-win Rio Hondo College team that could cause significant damage to the Huskies' postseason aspirations. Thankfully, led by Lupe Vazquez's 23 points, the Pack (11-16, 3-4) did just enough to squeeze by the Roadrunners (4-22, 1-5), 61-58. Rio's Miranda Morales missed a potential game-tying three pointer with seven seconds left, with Vazquez rebounding the miss and dribbling out the clock to seal the win.

East LA had a slow start in this one, ending the first quarter down 11-9 to the visitors from nearby Whittier. Both teams shot under 30% from the field in the opening frame. Fortunately, the home Green arose from the doldrums in the second quarter: freshman F/C Asiah Harris had eight points in the period as ELAC shot almost 59% from the field while holding Rio Hondo to 23.5% shooting. The result was a 23-13 advantage in the period, and the Huskies taking a 32-24 lead into halftime.

The third quarter nearly mirrored the first: both teams shot under 30% again, with ELAC missing 12 of their 15 shots during the period. The Huskies' lead slipped to five, 41-36, to end the third.

The fourth quarter saw both teams improve their shooting: fortunately for ELAC, that meant Vazquez finally got going (as great scorers ultimately do). Shooting only 5-14 up until the fourth, the local sophomore G out of Cantwell shot 3-5 - all three makes from long-range along with two free throws - to score 11 of her 23 points in the final frame. Her last make, a three-pointer with 1:45 left, gave East LA a 61-54 lead. But Rio Hondo answered back with a Miranda Morales layup to cut it to 61-56. On the following possession, ELAC had trouble executing their offense, turning the ball over. Hesma Valdes drew a foul on vazquez, and made both free throws to narrow the lead to 61-58. On the ensuing possession, Vazquez missed a three-ball, and ELAC had three chances off offensive rebounds to put the dagger in the Roadrunners. Two missed putback layup attempts plus another missed jumper by Vazquez before Morales was able to rebound the ball for Rio, and the visitors called timeout. The Huskies would have to win it on defense.

Off the timeout, Rio worked the ball to Morales, who missed a three. Freshman PG Si'Auna (Si-Si) Hayden grabbed the rebound and looked to be forced out of bounds by Rio Hondo, but the refs called her for the turnover. One more time to defend for East, but first, one more timeout for the Roadrunners.

Then one more time, Rio worked the ball again to Morales. She rose from beyond the top of the arc to try to tie the game, but missed again. Vazquez coralled the rebound with under four seconds left and dribbled upcourt to run out the clock.

HUSKY BITS

• Both teams shot under 40% for the game, though ELAC edged the visitors 38.3% to 31.3%
• Asiah Harris was the only other Husky to finish with double-digit points (10).
• Sophomore F Sasha Capers had eight rebounds and three assists.
• Rio's Morales led all scorers with 29 points.

UP NEXT:

It's the regular season finale as ELAC hosts LA Trade Tech on Sophomore Night this coming Wednesday, February 21 at 7pm. With an RPI standing that ranks them 11th in SoCal, the Huskies still have a strong case for making the postseason.