Women’s basketball team downs LBCC, remain undefeated in conference

By Eric Ramos • February 12, 2015

Warriors forward, Shontalene Trudeau attempts to score against Long Beach City College. The Warriors defeated the Vikings 77-69 Wednesday night. Photo credit: Jorge Villa

With EC down 61-60 in the second half, sophomore forward Shontalene Trudeau drove to the basket and missed an up and under layup. She didn’t give up on the play as she track down the Vikings player, stole the ball at midcourt and scored on a layup to give EC a 63-60 lead with 3:32 remaining in the second half.

“(Trudeau) decided, in a lot of ways to take control of that game and willed us to make sure we didn’t lose that basketball game,” coach Steve Shaw said. “She made big plays a lot of the time, that were gigantic for us.”

EC played tight team defense down the stretch and made all their free throws to preserve the 77-69 win over LBCC in the “Coaches versus Cancer” classic. The Warriors remain undefeated (6-0) in South Coast-South conference play.

Trudeau (West Torrance HS) led the Warriors with 29 points, nine rebounds and shot a scorching 11-14 from the field. Forward Jill Thebodeau added eight points and seven rebounds.

“We just knew that we had to play good team basketball like we usually do and just try to pull off the win,” Trudeau said. “Everyone contributed and played so hard.”

EC trailed 11-4 early, sophomore guard Sydney Chase (West Torrance HS) drilled back to back three pointers to cut the lead, 11-10. EC led 37-32 at the half, shooting 53 percent from the field.

Sophomore guard Nisja Bass (Mayfair HS) made her biggest contribution on defense with three steals. Bass made a key steal with 1:31 left in the game, to help the Warriors maintain the lead.

“I just wanted them,” Bass said. “They telegraphed the pass, I just went for it and got the steal.”

EC got off to a slow start but they settled down, played team basketball and made plays down the stretch. The Warriors went on a 12-2 run and made all their free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win.

“We didn’t get rattled, we just stayed with it,” Shaw said. “We got contributions from so many people at so many different points in the game. Everybody had a part in that game right there.”

EC (18-8) travels to Cerritos College on Friday, Feb. 13. Game time is at 7 p.m.