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Kung Perfect As Warriors Hammer Compton
February 6, 2012
TORRANCE, Calif. – Freshman Kaitlyn Kung (West Torrance) scored 19 points as the Warriors snapped a two-game skid with a 78-45 South Coast Conference victory over visiting ECC Compton Center Friday night at the El Camino College North Gym.
Kung had her best game of the season, going 6-for-6 for the game including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. She also sank both her free throws to complete her flawless night. Christianna Willis was the only other player to connect from long distance, sinking two 3-pointers on her way to 14 points.
The Warriors (12-10, 5-8) struggled early, trailing 19-14 midway through the first half. But the team went on a 22-2 run to close out the half and they never looked back. Center Caitlin Kyle proved to be a key to the Warriors success in the period, scoring seven of her 14 points in the first half. She added six rebounds and five blocks.
The team’s ball movement was stellar as the Warriors assisted on 27 of their 31 field goals. Point guard Amanda Young (Torrance) led the team with nine assists and freshman Kelsey Ishigo dished out seven dimes of her own.
Other standouts for the Warriors included sophomore Kristen Dresser (North Torrance) who dropped 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds while coming off the bench. Ryann Drear, the team’s scoring leader this season, had just eight points but she showed why she is also the Warriors leading rebounder as she pulled down a team-high 12 boards.
For the Tartars (1-15, 1-9), sophomore Evelyn Sanchez led the way with 14 points and six assists. Freshman Mykell Trunnell (Narbonne) added seven and a game-high 15 rebounds while Ebony Robinson dropped in nine points to go along with six rebounds and one block.
The Warriors will have time to rest as their next game is not until Feb. 10 when they host L.A. Southwest.
Warriors Beat LATT, Lose To Pasadena
January 30, 2012
The Warriors began the week with a high note, defeating L.A. Trade Tech 74-61 on the road on Jan. 25. The team was led in scoring by Ryann Drear, who dropped 16 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds and added three blocked shots.
Drear was one of four Warriors to score in double figures. Amanda Young and Kristen Dresser each scored 13 points while Kaitlyn Kung added 10. The Warriors were stellar with their outside shooting, going 8-for-17 from beyond the 3-point line. Kung, Dresser and Lindsay Wong each drained two 3-pointers while Young and Kelsey Ishigo each added one.
The Warriors also racked up 12 steals in the game, led by Ishigo with four. Young added three thefts and Dresser had two.
On Jan. 27, the Warriors were looking to avenge a previous 68-64 overtime loss to visiting Pasadena. The second meeting between the teams appeared to be headed in the same direction as the Lancers led by just two at the half.
The Warriors kept it a close game early in the second half, but the Lancers went on a 14-5 run midway through the second half and the Warriors were eventually outscored 46-35 in the second half on their way to a 78-65 South Coast Conference loss at the El Camino College North Gym.
Drear led the Warriors with 21 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Dresser added 15 points off the bench on 6-for-13 shooting and Ishigo and Kung each had nine points.
The Lancers had four players score in double figures, led by forward Marquetta Stokes with 24 points. Tonisha Lacey added 14 points and 11 rebounds, Destinee Sellers had 12 and Stella Ghazarian had 13 off the bench.
The Warriors will travel to East Los Angeles on Feb. 1 while the Lancers host Cerritos.
Warriors Run The Gauntlet Against Cerritos and Mt. SAC
January 23, 2012
(Box Score vs. Cerritos)(Box Score vs. Mt. SAC)
The Warriors had a tough week, facing two of the top 10 teams in the state. They began the week by hosting Cerritos, the second place team in the South Coast Conference and No. 6 in the state at the time.
Amanda Young scored a team-high 11 points but it was not enough as the Warriors fell to Cerritos, 69-48 at the El Camino College North Gym on Jan. 18.
The Warriors had trouble dealing with the Falcons’ defense all night as they turned the ball over 27 times. They fell behind 36-22 at the break and never recovered from there.
Armelia Patterson led the Falcons (17-4, 7-1) with 12 points, Andrina Rendon added 11 and Regina English scored 10 for the Falcons.
On Jan. 20, the Warriors hosted Mt. San Antonio College, the No. 2 team in the state and the top team in the SCC.
The Warriors did their best, but state and regional No. 2 Mt. San Antonio College was too much as they rolled past El Camino College 80-45.
Sophomores Ryann Drear and Kristen Dresser paced the Warriors (10-8, 3-6) offense with 10 points apiece, with Drear adding four blocked shots on the defensive end. Lindsay Wong scored seven points off the bench for the Warriors.
The Mounties came into the contest as the first place team in the conference and they sure played like it. Tatiana Parish led all scorers with 15 points and center Danielle Peacon added 13 points and eight rebounds along with two blocks.
The Warriors trailed 37-24 at halftime thanks to a poor shooting period where they went just 6-of-18 from the field. They improved in the second half, hitting nine of their 20 shots in the second half but by then it was too late.
The Warrior Doesn't Fall From From the Tree
January 18, 2012
At first glance, freshmen Caitlin Kyle and Kelsey Ishigo appear to have very little in common aside from playing on the El Camino College women’s basketball team.
Kyle is a 6-foot-2 center in her first year living in California after seven years in Orlando, FL. She is a low-post scorer on offense and an imposing presence protecting the rim on defense, having recorded 24 blocks in 13 games this season, including an eight-block performance on Jan. 11 at L.A. Southwest College.
In contrast, the 5-foot-5 Ishigo is a feisty little guard with quick hands on defense, as her 49 steals indicate, to go along with a rapid-fire shot from the outside to keep opposing defenses from crowding the paint. The two have combined their talents along with the rest of the team to help the Warriors to a 10-6 record midway through the season.
The two players do have one interesting thing in common; both of their mothers are employees at El Camino College.
Terri Kyle, Caitlin’s mother, is in her first year as the director of nursing at El Camino College. The family moved to California after Terri Kyle’s husband, an actor, was looking for new opportunities after exhausting all his resources in Florida. The family was more than receptive to the idea of moving someplace new.
“We all wanted a change from Orlando,” Caitlin said. “(My mom) started looking for jobs and she really liked El Camino College and California and we moved here.”
While Caitlin would be moving away from all her friends and everyone she knew, was ready for a big change.
“She was excited and ready for something different,” Terri Kyle said. “She knew she was going to miss her friends but she was excited about doing something new.”
Caitlin was home-schooled while living in Orlando, but she took a liking to basketball in seventh grade after playing at a nearby YMCA. In her freshman year of high school, her parents looked for nearby schools for her to play for since Florida allows home-schooled children to play for a school in their district. Eventually, they chose Eastland Christian where Caitlin would help lead the Hurricanes to the state championships every season. The team won the state title during her senior year, where she was awarded the MVP award.
All the while, the Kyle family came along for the ride. They traveled to Tennessee, Georgia and even across the country to watch Caitlin play.
“I have missed two of her games,” Terri Kyle said. “And they have both been since we have been (in California) because of work.”
When Caitlin enrolled at El Camino College, she never planned on playing for the basketball team. She had taken a couple of years off and was majoring in English, but her love of the game proved to be too much to overlook.
“I hadn’t played in a while and I missed it a lot,” Caitlin said. “I just talked to coach (Steve Shaw) and he asked me to play. It was all really sudden and it was hard because I was really out of shape and it’s hard getting back into basketball shape (but at the same time) it’s easy because I love it.”
As for Ishigo, she starred on the West Torrance High School basketball team last season. She led the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game. She also led the Warriors in assists per game (4.2) and steals (153) to help lead the team to the second round of the CIF-SS Division 3AA playoffs.
Ishigo grew up in the South Bay and seemed destined to follow in the athletic footsteps of her family. Her father played volleyball for UC Irvine, her eldest sister played basketball for West Torrance and her brother also played until he reached high school.
“(My sister) was really good in high school,” Ishigo said. “She had a chance to play in college but she turned it down. I think she wanted to pursue other things but she regrets it now.”
Ishigo’s mother, Nina Oshio (a Human Resources Tech at El Camino College), made sure her daughter also got involved with sports at a very early age. Oshio said that Ishigo was probably the most energetic of the three children and it was important to put that energy to good use.
“We put her on the soccer team first and just told her to go run around,” Nina Oshio said.
Once Ishigo moved on to basketball, things got really hectic for her parents, having to handle three children involved in sports at the same time.
“It got really, really busy,” Nina Oshio said. “There were times we had to go to three games that were all within an hour or two (of each other) and all in different locations on the same day. It was crazy but we tried to go to as many games as we could.”
Now that Ishigo is the last athlete standing and playing for El Camino College, her mother can finally relax and not have to worry about the long treks to her games.
“It’s great (that Kelsey plays here),” Nina Oshio said. “Now I can just walk over after work for her game.”
Both athletes have acknowledged how great it is to have their parents’ constant support through their basketball careers.
“It’s nice,” Ishigo said. “I like the support and I like that she is willing to go to all my games because not everyone has that.”
According to both mothers, it has not been easy to show that support constantly, but it has definitely been worth the effort.
“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Terri Kyle said. “It’s stressful and you want them to succeed and be happy but it’s also exciting and something you can set your clock by. It’s worth it because she has enjoyed it so much and we always want to be there for her.”
Oshio added, “I mean, how many years of practices (have there been)? Multiple times a week, that’s a lot and just being on parent committees and helping with fundraising (but) I’m proud of her!”
It is helpful that both parents were sports fans before their children even picked up a basketball. Nina Oshio grew up with a father and grandfather who were huge sports fans. They mostly enjoyed football but all sports were watched religiously in her home. She also enjoys the important lessons that can be learned from playing sports.
“When (the children) are good at sports they have more confidence and faith in themselves,” Nina Oshio said.
She is particularly proud of how sports have helped her daughter evolve into a responsible adult.
“She understands the concepts of working together for the purpose of team goals and how to work together with people,” Nina Oshio said. “It’s been real solid for her all the way around and I think she does have a good sense of self and confidence in herself because of sports.”
Terri Kyle also grew up loving sports, but basketball did not come into the equation until she attended the University of North Carolina, a school with just a bit of basketball history to its credit.
“When I got there I didn’t know about Carolina basketball until I got there,” she recalled. “I went to every home game and (Caitlin) has grown up a Tar Heels fan.”
After watching firsthand the likes of former Lakers Sam Perkins, James Worthy, and arguably the greatest player of all time in Michael Jordan during their college years, Terri Kyle has some pretty high standards for quality basketball, standards she says Caitlin has met.
“(Caitlin) has some real great low-post moves and can score around the basket,” she said.
As for the action on the court, Caitlin and Ishigo are looking forward to continuing the early success of the team this year and hope to capture their first conference title since 2006.
“It feels great to establish ourselves since we are the underdogs,” Ishigo said. “When we see the weekly polls and we see we’re not on it (in the beginning of the season), it feels great to see our names up there after beating some good teams.”
The Warriors have two South Coast Conference home games this week against Mount San Antonio College and Cerritos.
Warriors Grab Move Up In Regional Ranks After Solid Week
January 17, 2012
The Warriors split their two games last week but nearly pulled off an upset of No. 9 (SoCal) Long Beach on Jan. 13. Despite the loss, the Warriors moved up one spot to No. 14 in the Southern California Regional Polls this week.
The team travelled to L.A. Southwest on Jan. 11 to begin the week, where they took care of business with a 58-44 victory over the host Cougars. The Warriors jumped out to a commanding 32-10 lead by halftime and cruised from there.
Sophomore forward Ryann Drear recorded her fifth double-double of the season, leading the team with 15 points and 15 rebounds. She was also a menace on defense with five steals.
Guard Kelsey Ishigo (West Torrance) added 11 points, hitting three of her five shots from beyond the arc while also nabbing five steals of her own. Amanda Young also scored in double figures, dropping 10 points to go along with her four assists.
It was the fourth consecutive victory for the Warriors and they seemed to have momentum going into their showdown with No. 9 (SoCal) Long Beach on Jan. 13.
The Warriors rode that momentum to a 31-18 lead at halftime against the host Vikings, ranked No. 14 in the state at the time. But the runaway freight train that was the Warriors derailed in the second half, managing only 13 points in the second half while the Vikings stormed back to score 30 points in the frame.
The Vikings defense also turned up the intensity, forcing the Warriors to commit 20 turnovers in the second half.
Christianna Willis and Kristen Dresser each scored eight points to pace the Warriors offense. Willis also had a team high 13 rebounds and Drear added 10 boards of her own, helping the Warriors to dominate the glass with a 53-46 edge over the Vikings.
The Warriors defense also held the Vikings to 30 percent shooting for the game and forced 25 turnovers. Young led the team with six steals while Willis and Ishigo dished out three assists apiece.
Willis, Drear Lead Warriors At Ventura Tournament
January 3, 2012
The Warriors closed out 2011 by taking down the consolation championship at the Ventura Optimist Club Holiday Tournament hosted by Ventura College on Dec. 28.
The team opened with an 86-66 loss to host Ventura, who is ranked No. 1 in the state. The Warriors had four players score in double figures, led by Ryann Drear and Kristen Dresser who each scored 12 points. The Warriors actually led the No. 1 Pirates 16-12 after seven minutes of play, but the hosts finished the first half by outscoring the Warriors 31-13 to take a commanding 43-29 halftime lead that they would not give up.
On Dec. 29, the Warriors bounced back with a resounding 61-30 victory over Southwestern. Drear led the way with 15 points for the Warriors and freshman Christianna Willis added 11. Point guard Amanda Young scored six points, grabbed six rebounds and had five steals. The victory helped the Warriors avenge a previous loss to Southwestern on Dec. 2 at El Camino College.
On Dec. 30, the Warriors faced Orange Coast College in the consolation championship game. It was the second time the two teams met, with the Warriors winning the first meeting 57-44. This time, the Warriors recorded a 63-43 victory thanks to Dresser’s 12 points off the bench. Willis added 11 points and Young had 10 with four assists.
Willis and Drear both finished the tournament averaging 11 points per game while Dresser averaged a shade under that and Amanda Young tallied just under nine points a game.
The Warriors begin the new year ranked No. 15 in Southern California and will resume South Coast Conference play this week, starting with a road game against El Camino College Compton Center on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Warriors Downed By No. 5 ELAC
December 21, 2011
TORRANCE, Calif. – The Warriors took the lead twice in the second half but could not hold it as they lost to No. 5 East Los Angeles 64-52 Wednesday at the El Camino College North Gym.
The No. 13 Warriors (6-4, 1-3) fell behind 7-0 to start the game and trailed for the first 25 minutes of the game before sophomore Ryann Drear drained a layup to cap off a 12-4 run and give the Warriors a 36-35 lead. The Warriors eventually held a 46-43 lead with 8:24 to go in the game but the visiting Huskies closed out the game on a 21-9 run to secure the win.
Sophomore Taylor Cotton led the Warriors with 12 points and six rebounds coming off the bench and forward Kristen Dresser added 11 points and seven boards. Sophomore Ryann Drear, who leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg), only managed to score four points and grab five rebounds before fouling out.
The Warriors defense kept the team in the game as they forced the Huskies to commit a jaw-dropping 40 turnovers on the night. The Warriors had 23 steals, led by Kelsey Ishigo’s (West Torrance) six thefts. Dresser had five steals and Christianna Willis (Bishop Montgomery) had four.
But it was the Warriors inability to prevent second chances that ultimately doomed them in the game. The Huskies outrebounded the Warriors 57-33, including a 21-11 edge on the offensive glass.
Point guard Keyanna Johnson led the Huskies with 18 points and nine rebounds, Francis Quinonez had 14 with nine boards and Jamie Robinson recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Warriors will conclude the year when they travel to the Ventura College tournament on Dec. 28 and will not play another home game until they host Cerritos on Jan. 18, 2012.
Warriors Impressive Start Rewarded With State Ranking
December 14, 2011
The El Camino College women’s basketball team entered the 2011-12 season unranked and hopes of improving from last year’s disappointing season. But few expected the Warriors to reach that improvement so quickly.
The Warriors came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, winning their first five games of the year and storming into the state polls with a No. 12 ranking on Nov. 28 to go along with a No. 6 regional ranking.
The Warriors have cooled off since then, losing two of their last three and this week showed up in the polls as the No. 17 team in the state and the No. 12 team in Southern California. The accomplishment is impressive nonetheless and can be attributed to the Warriors stellar ball movement on offense and protection of the rim on defense.
The Warriors average 15.4 assists per game as a team this season and 8.1 blocks per game on the defensive end. Individually, the Warriors are led by sophomore Ryann Drear who leads the team in scoring (18.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). The second-year forward has recorded four double-doubles, including a magnificent 37 point, 15 rebound effort in the Warriors victory over L.A. Trade Tech on Dec. 2.
The Warriors are also getting stellar play from their sophomore point guard Amanda Young (Torrance H.S.), who leads the team in assists (4.14 apg), steals (22) and shooting percentage (.489). Freshman Kelsey Ishigo (West Torrance) has been a threat from the outside for the Warriors, leading the team with a .412 3-point shooting percentage.
Freshman forward Christianna Willis has been a force on both ends for the Warriors, scoring 9.5 points per game while patrolling the rim with extreme prejudice, leading the team with 27 blocks (3.3 per game). The Warriors are also getting great production from their bench, led by second-year forward Kristen Dresser (North Torrance) who scores 8.9 points per game as a reserve to go along with 5.5 rebounds a game.
The Warriors will travel to Pasadena on Friday in their third South Coast Conference game of the season.
Warriors Beat Trade Tech, Snap Two-Game Skid
December 9, 2011
TORRANCE, Calif. – Sophomore Ryann Drear scored a season-high 37 points and grab bed 15 rebounds to lead the Warriors to a 79-66 South Coast Conference victory over visiting L.A. Trade Tech Friday at the El Camino College North Gym.
Drear was outstanding, going 14-for-28 from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line to help snap the Warriors (6-2, 1-1) two-game losing streak. She had five offensive rebounds and recorded her team-high fourth double-double of the season.
Sophomore forward Kristen Dresser (North Torrance) added 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench and point guard Amanda Young (Torrance) led the team with six assists.
The Warriors jumped on the Beavers (3-7, 0-1) early, taking a 15-0 lead in the opening eight minutes of the game. The Warriors led by 14 at halftime, thanks to limiting their turnovers. They coughed the ball up only six times in the first half and had 14 turnovers for the game.
The Warriors outrebounded the Beavers 54-52 and also dished out 22 assists as a team.
But the Beavers did not go down quietly in the second half. Trailing 54-38, the Beavers went on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to five with 8:55 left in the game. But Drear, who entered the game leading the Warriors in scoring with 15.9 ppg, put a stop to the run, hitting her only 3-pointer of the game to increase the Warriors cushion to eight points and they never looked back.
LaShae Bynum and Tiffany Moorehead each scored 17 points for the Beavers, with Natasha Pruitt and Clifftyanne Wilson each adding 11. Edin Dunbar grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Warriors will travel to Pasadena on Dec. 16 in another South Coast Conference affair before returning home on Dec. 21 to host East Los Angeles.
Warriors Upset By Southwestern
December 2, 2011
Despite another double-double from Ryann Drear, the Warriors fell victim to an upset as they dropped a 67-59 decision against Southwestern Friday at the El Camino College North Gym.
Drear scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and point guard Amanda Young added 10 points and eight assists.
The Warriors (5-1) led by two at halftime but committed 22 turnovers in the game and only made 12-of-24 from the free throw line. Still, the Warriors held a three-point lead with six minutes to go in the game before the Jaguars finally capitalized on those errors with an 8-0 run to seize control of the game.
Trailing 52-49, Gabby Robledo hit a 3-pointer for the Jaguars to tie the score and then Danielle Wilson followed that with a long-distance connection of her own to give the Jaguars the lead. Robledo then capped off the run with a layup and the Warriors never recovered.
The Warriors only shot 26 percent from the field in the second half. Their struggles were specifically noticeable from 3-point land. Usually a stellar 3-point shooting team, the Warriors struggled mightily from beyond the arc connecting on just three of their 17 attempts from downtown.
The Warriors defense did perform well, forcing the Jaguars to commit an astonishing 29 turnovers and the Warriors converted those into 24 points. They also held the Jaguars to 33 percent shooting for the game.
The Jaguars (1-6) got 26 points and eight rebounds from Robledo, Chloe Cook dropped 11 and Andrea Reiff added 10 and five boards.
This was the Warriors last non-conference game as they will travel to Mount San Antonio College on Dec. 7 to open up South Coast Conference action.
Drear's Double-Double Powers Warriors Past Fullerton
November 23, 2011
TORRANCE, Calif. – Sophomore forward Ryann Drear scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help the Warriors defeat Fullerton 72-61 Wednesday at the El Camino College North Gym.
Drear was 9-for-21 from the field and nailed two 3-pointers for the Warriors (5-0) to lead all scorers. Drear also did the job on the defensive end with a game-high five blocked shots.
The Warriors jumped on the visiting Hornets (5-2) with a 12-0 run to start the game and went on to lead wire-to-wire. Freshman Christianna Willis scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards and Kelsey Ishigo added 11 points and had a team-high six assists.
The Warriors won despite getting outrebounded 54-36, including a 31-8 deficit on the offensive glass. Long distance shooting was key to the Warriors success as they went 10-for-21 from 3-point land, led by Willis who made three of her seven shots from beyond the arc.
Amber Washington led all Hornets scorers with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting and Aunjunay Chambers recorded a double-double of her own, scoring 12 and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Warriors will go for their sixth consecutive victory to start the season on Dec. 2 when they host Southwestern College at 6 p.m.
Warriors Win Three Straight To Start Season
November 12, 2011
(Box Score vs. OCC)(Box Score vs. Palomar)(Box Score vs. West L.A.)
The Warriors shot right out of the starting gate this season, winning their first three games of the season. They began their run with a tough 80-71 victory over West L.A. on Nov. 10.
Sophomore Ryann Drear led the team with 21 points and seven rebounds and Kristen Dresser added 18 points and seven boards. She was also made eight of her nine free throws, including four straight in the final 1:22 to preserve the Warriors lead.
Freshman Kaitlyn Kung added 15 points as she went 3-of-6 from 3-point land and Kelsey Ishigo added 11 points, three assists and two steals.
The Warriors followed that up with a trip to Orange Coast College for the OCC Crossover Tournament. They opened on Nov. 11 with a tight 43-41 victory against Palomar.
Drear had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards and sophomore Lindsay Wong hit the go-ahead basket with 1:35 left to give the Warriors the lead for good.
On Nov. 12, the Warriors completed the OCC Crossover with a 57-44 victory over hosts Orange Coast College. Freshman Christianna Willis had an incredible game, dropping in 20 points and swatted a game-high nine blocked shots to go along with six rebounds. Young added eight boards, three assists and two steals and the Warriors defense was stifling, holding the host Pirates to 21 percent shooting.
Records & All-Conference
Women's Basketball Single Season and Career Records
Women's Basketball All-Conference Selections