By Steven Adamo
Women’s Basketball continued its win streak and No. 1 ranking in the state with a 67-41 win against Rio Hondo College last Wednesday.
“Lackadaisical performance, but always good to see the team come back and play together” said head coach Bruce Turner after the Huskies’ win last Friday.
ELAC’s win against Rio Hondo puts their current winning streak at six games. Their win against Mt. San Antonio College brought the Huskies back to #1 status in the state.
The game began strong for East Los Angeles College, in particular Allissa Gomez who scored the first few points in the game.
Points scored in the first half of the game was dominated by Gomez, Monica Garcia, and Anastasia Tysbaeva. The half ended with a close game with ELAC scoring 30 points to Rio Hondo’s 23.
“Allissa Gomez, sophomore, outstanding leadership, good assist guard and tonight she shot the ball extremely well,” said Turner.
Gomez scored two three-pointers this game, with Ikeba Allen, Tiffani Martinez and Sarah Gurrola scoring the others.
Gomez said that communication is a big factor in their winning streak.
“If our help is not there, we can always communicate and see what’s coming as well,” Gomez said.
Whereas Gomez scored the most points in the first half (12 points total in the game), Garcia continued by scoring big in the second half for a total of 17 points for the entire game.
Another big scorer in the second half was Bianca Ortiz a sophomore from Montebello who scored eight points in the game.
“Freshman from Garfield High School, Monica can play all over the court and she does a great job inside and outside just like an Energizer bunny,” said Turner.
The Huskies’ Anastasia Tysbaeva has also improved a lot from last year. Coach Turner attributes this in part to Tysbaeva’s further understanding of the game. He said “she’s stronger, understanding more concepts; she’s done a great job at blocking shots on the defensive end and she’s improving a lot.”
During this game, Tysbaeva rebounded the ball frequently, allowing ELAC to score multiple times. Rio Hondo’s defense was tough on the Huskies, causing a number of turnovers. However, the Huskies’ defense prevented Rio Hondo from scoring in most instances.
One such turnover happened when Rio Hondo stole the ball from the Huskies immediately after they put the ball in play. Rio Hondo attempted a layup but Gomez smacked the ball resulting in a lot of “ooohs” and “ahhhs” from the crowd – even from some of the audience cheering for Rio Hondo.
By the end of the game, ELAC scored about half the time with 56 rebounds, 13 assists and 10 turnovers.
The next game will be at home in the south gym Friday against Trade Tech. They are ranked 9 or 10 in the state and coach Turner says it’ll be a great contest.
