No. 1 Lady Huskies win SCC North Title

MONTEREY PARK, CA — The No. 1 state-ranked East Los Angeles College won a share of the South Coast Conference North Division with a hard-fought 78-49 win against No. 17 Pasadena City College.

It is the first conference championship since the 1980s when former ELAC Coach Marilyn Ladd and the Huskies won two Eastern League titles.

“We knew it would be a tough game against Pasadena,” said ELAC Head Coach Bruce Turner. Pasadena led after the first quarter, 15-14.

The seesaw quarter included six lead changes and one tie. Five Huskies and five Lancers scored, led by ELAC sophomore guard Tiffani Martinez (Montebello HS) and Pasadena freshman Alisa Shinn (Crescenta Valley HS) who each scored six points.

The second period included three lead changes and three ties; the latter, 27-all, after Martinez hit a 3-pointer from downtown with 6:06 left in the half.

The Huskies built a 33-26 lead after sophomore guard Vianey Chavez (Schurr HS) hit one of two free throws at the 3:25 mark. Pasadena followed with a 7-1 run and the period ended with the Huskies in the lead, 34-33.

ELAC added many mixed passes in the second half with a dozen assists, which resulted in outscoring Pasadena 20-4 in the third period and 24-12 in the fourth.

“Tonight was a great example of how we turn it up a notch,” said Turner. “I didn’t like the way we played in the first half. The second half was Husky basketball. We won it with our defense.”

Four women, all Huskies, scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Katrina Reeve (Orlando, FL / Dr. Phillips HS), who is playing her best basketball of the season, had the games only double double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. She also had four steals and was 4-of-4 from the line.

Martinez scored 17 points, sophomore guard Allissa Gomez (Roosevelt HS) scored 12 and freshman guard Farrah Castillo (Rowland HS) scored 11. Castillo had a game-high six assists.

ELAC sophomore center Gloria Ortiz (Roosevelt HS) had a game-high 14 rebounds. Pasadena sophomore guard Jolene Robinson scored a team-high nine points.

With the win, the Huskies ended the regular season, 26-2 overall and 9-1 in the SCC North. Pasadena (20-9, 4-6) and the Huskies await the playoff seeding’s, which will be announced on Monday. Four SCC North teams advance to the playoffs because they are state ranked.

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia