Nguyen Powers Warriors to First Win over Citrus

TORRANCE, Calif. – Sophomore Ashley Nguyen had her best performance of the season as El Camino College picked up its first victory of the year with a 56-44 decision over Citrus Friday night at the ECC North Gym.

Nguyen led all scorers on the night as she poured in 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to go along with four assists and three steals to lead the Warriors. She was the only ECC player to score in double figures. Alexia Mason grabbed 12 rebounds to lead ECC and Teairra Anderson provided a big spark off the bench with eight points in just 11 minutes of action.

For the Owls, Malia Rocha led the way with 23 points and Dy'mond Mitchell added 14 while Julie Garcia Man grabbed 12 rebounds in the losing effort.

The Warriors jumped on the Owls early, taking a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. Nguyen and her sister Sara Nguyen each scored six points in the period, hitting two 3-pointers apiece to lead the onslaught early on for the Warriors.

The Owls fought back in the second quarter but ECC still outscored them 15-13 in the period and took a 34-20 lead into halftime.

In the third, the Owls went on a 10-2 scoring run in the first 5:37 of the quarter to cut the Warriors' lead to six. But a 3-pointer from Ashley Nguyen put the Warriors back up by three possessions and ECC would outscore the Owls 17-14 the rest of the way to score the win.

The Warriors range proved to be pivotal on Friday night as ECC shot 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 7-of-18. They also outrebounded Citrus 48-36 and had 15 assists on 22 made baskets.

The Warriors will look to make it consecutive wins as they continue their five-game homestand on Wednesday evening against Rio Hondo. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.