Richards’ Career High Not Enough in Loss to Riverside

TORRANCE, Calif. --- Freshman Leah Richards scored a career-high 17 points but El Camino College suffered a 47-42 loss to Riverside in the final game of the ECC Christmas Crossover on Tuesday night at the ECC Gym Complex.

Richards tallied 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting but the visiting Tigers outscored ECC 17-8 in the final period to take the win.

Neither team shot the ball well with the Tigers hitting 25.4 percent of their shots while the Warriors hit at a 20.9 percent clip.

But the Tigers dominated the glass, grabbing 70 total rebounds including 21 on the offensive end while the Warriors snatched 41 boards in the loss.

The Warriors did force 29 Riverside turnovers but only held a 19-18 edge over the Tigers in points off turnovers.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors held a four-point lead but the Tigers went on a 9-0 scoring run to grab the lead for good. They pushed their lead to to 45-36 with 3:07 left but the Warriors brought it down to 45-41 with 1:28 left in regulation.

Jackie King forced a turnover with a minute left in regulation but the Warriors turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, leading to a breakaway layup for the Tigers and six-point lead with 44 seconds left and the Warriors would get no closer.

The Warriors will return to action on Thursday when they host Cuesta at 6 p.m.

GAME THREE: SANTA BARBARA 86, SANTA ANA 85 (OT)

In a thrilling opening game on day two, the Vaqueros held off a furious surge by the Dons to escape with the one-point win in overtime. The Dons erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to force the extra period and then trimmed an eight-point deficit in overtime down to one with 28 seconds left. The teams traded two free throws and with the score 86-85, the Vaqueros were able to inbound the ball and run down the clock to zeroes to secure the win.

Khaya Jackson led SBCC with 24 points and Aariah Fox nearly had a triple double with 20 points, 12 boards and nine assists. Anaya Beard led all scorers with 32 points for Santa Ana and Kiki Graham added 21 points.