Golden Eagles improve to 7-2 with split in Santa Ana basketball tourney

Jordan Lassiter led all scorers with 24 points, shooting 9 of 19 from the field and 1 of 2 from the 3-point mark. Samantha Earl finished with 16 points and Michelle Brown had 14 points in the loss to San Bernardino.

In their victory over Bakersfield, Lassiter again led the Lady Golden Eagles with 21 points. Brown finished with 16 while Earls had 14. Earls also had 8 assists in the game.

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West Hills College Lemoore’s women’s basketball team appears poised to battle for the conference championship this year, and if the team’s first seven games are any indication, Golden Eagles Coach Andrea Picchi just might have the tools to do it.

The Golden Eagles have won six of their first seven games, their only loss to a San Francisco City College team in the Sierra College Tournament on Nov. 20. The women dropped a 62-53 decision.

West Hills Golden Eagles 2015-16 schedule

But the Golden Eagles ran off three in a row to open the season, beating Santa Barbara in the opener of the Allan Hancock Crossover tournament 71-57 and then Hancock 59-56. They won their third game 75-61 over Bakersfield before losing to San Francisco.

Since then the WHCL ladies have beaten Foothill in a 59-57 overtime thriller, College of the Redwoods and Consumnes River for a 6-1 record.

A year ago the Golden Eagles lost in the playoffs to College of the Sequoias despite a 20-win season.

West Hill’s next action is Dec. 3 at the Santa Ana College Tournament where they open with San Bernardino and will play a total of three games.

Leading the team in scoring this early in the season is freshman Michelle Brown with a 17.2 points per game average. Last year’s Central Valley Conference player selection, Samantha Earl, is scoring at a 15.2 clip while Jordan Lassiter is checking with a 10.5 average per game. Earl was also earned a spot on the State's First Team last season. 

The Golden Eagles won its first ever tournament last year and advanced to the second round of the state community college playoffs before being bumped out by a talented College of the Sequoias squad.

Last year the Golden Eagles placed three players on the All-Academic squad. Standouts returnee Jordan Lassiter, and sophomores Jayla English and Kalia Parker, all of whom, in addition to playing high-caliber basketball, managed to carry 4.0 grade point averages throughout the season. Only 15 players statewide earned spots on the team.

Last year's players Parker and English also earned first-team honors for the Central Valley Conference.