Warriors Fall to Riverside

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College dropped a 67-60 non-conference decision to Riverside in the final game of the ECC Christmas Crossover on Saturday night at the ECC Gym Complex.

The Warriors (3-8) got another stellar performance from sophomore Brandy Castaneda but a rough second quarter for ECC proved costly as the Tigers held off the Warriors in the end.

Castaneda led all scorers with 28 points on 7-for-19 shooting and 12-for-15 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out two assists in the loss. Teena Ponce chipped in with 11 points on 3-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

For the Tigers, Neveah Manning led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds with Makayla Roberts and Janara Williams adding 12 apiece.

The Warriors trailed by just one point after one quarter but the Tigers shot 10-for-21 from the field in the period and outscored the Warriors 22-10 to build a double-digit lead by halftime. The Warriors went just 2-for-9 in the second period and committed nine turnovers to fall into the hole.

It was a 14-point deficit for the Warriors after three quarters but ECC mounted a last stand, eventually trimming the deficit to seven points with 1:09 left in regulation.

The Warriors forced a turnover with 43 seconds left, giving them a chance to cut the deficit even further but Ponce missed a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left.

The Tigers kept the Warriors alive by missing all four free throws they attempted in the last 20 seconds but the Warriors could not find a bucket.

The Warriors will return to action on Wednesday evening with a road game against College of the Desert with tipoff set for 5 p.m.