Hotchkiss Awaiting Results of Tests

Channel Islands High basketball player Shawanda Hotchkiss underwent tests Wednesday after collapsing because of severe abdominal pains during Tuesday night’s game against Thousand Oaks.

Hotchkiss was treated by paramedics at the scene for 25 minutes before being transported to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard. She was released at 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

After visiting her family doctor Wednesday morning, Hotchkiss was referred to a specialist for additional testing.

“She still is in a lot of pain,” Channel Islands Coach Ryle Lynch-Cole said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s still a mystery to the doctor what is wrong with her. Right now, we’re waiting to see what the tests show.”

Hotchkiss, a 5-foot-6 junior guard who earned All-Ventura County honors last season, will be sidelined until she receives medical clearance.

Lynch-Cole said Hotchkiss told him Wednesday she had been bothered by abdominal pains “for a couple of days” but had said nothing because she wanted to play in Tuesday’s game, a battle for first place in the Marmonte League.

Thousand Oaks won, 72-49, and Hotchkiss finished with 15 points. She is averaging 18 points, six assists and five rebounds and has helped Channel Islands to a 14-4 record, 6-1 in league play.

“She knew if she had told me, I wouldn’t have allowed her to play,” Lynch-Cole said. “She is a great competitor, but this puts a lot of things in perspective.”

Hotchkiss fell to the floor briefly in the third quarter but quickly returned to her feet and told her coach she had “a cramp, a sharp pain.”

“I wanted to take her out of the game, but she wanted to keep on playing,” Lynch-Cole said.

With 4 1/2 minutes to play, Hotchkiss again fell to the floor, clutching at her stomach in severe pain. Paramedics arrived minutes later, Lynch-Cole said.

“The second time she collapsed, I decided to get her to the hospital,” Lynch-Cole said.