SAN MARCOS — After defeating Allan Hancock College (AHC) 93-42 on Nov. 14 the Comets went on to beat East Los Angeles College (ELAC) 92-59 on Nov. 15 at Palomar’s annual home tournament.
Since the sports-ban (due to COVID-19) was lifted in 2021, Palomar College has hosted AHC and ELAC at the “Comet Crossover” tournament before conference games commence. The Comets were, and remain, undefeated.
Nov. 14, Palomar 93 – Allan Hancock 42
The Comets outscored the AHC Bulldogs 32-5 in the first quarter, all but solidifying their win.
“We saw success really early, turning them over and creating points off of those turnovers. I think that we’re growing and getting better every game,” Head Coach Leigh Marshall said.
Over the course of the game, the Comets scored 40 points off of turnovers compared to the Bulldogs’ three. Four Comet players scored over 15 points in the match — Ivorii Seals (#24) led the team with 21 points.
“I think a big part was our team as a whole running the floor,” Seals said. “If I run hard then I know that someone on the team will find me.”
Palomar’s current team features only three returning players from 2024’s conference-champion team. Despite being such a young team, the sophomore players’ vision on the court led the Comets to dominate throughout the game.
“Coming back from last year I know what I’m looking at when I do get the ball and I know what options there are,” Mandy Frozina (#4) said. “I feel like we did really well today with everyone getting to their spots and making it clear where to make the passes.”
Nov. 15, Palomar 93 – East Los Angeles College 59
Palomar’s match against ELAC was more physical than the previous night. Two players, Kylee Trujillo (#14) and ReeRee Davis (#3) fouled out before the final buzzer.
“We gotta be better, we gotta adapt to the gameplay. That’s a sign of maturity,” Marshall said.
The high aggression had a benefit though, as the Comets forced 31 turnovers on the night compared to ELAC’s 15, still too many for Coach Marshall’s liking.
“We turned the ball over way too much, we had 15 tonight, way over our goal,” Marshall said. “Though it was a good job by us to turn them over so many times, but we gotta capitalize more.”
Before fouling out of the game, Trujillo scored 30 points, almost doubling her point total from the previous night.
“I was hustling more and sprinting the court a lot harder than last night,” Trujillo said. “I really work hard on looking for the mismatch and getting those drives, those lanes open, and there was a lot of opportunity tonight.”
The Comets outscored ELAC in each quarter, leading them to back-to-back victories of over 30 points. The physicality in the match led to fouls for sure, but it also garnered more scoring opportunities in the paint and off of turnovers, showing that Palomar adapts to the opponents’ playstyle to score from everywhere on the court.
“Last night we were raining three’s, but we did our best, fought through it and our mission was to get to the rack and pressure the ball,” Luciana Aguilar (#11) said.
