The Culver City high school girls’ basketball team is starting to play their best basketball of the season. Their blowout wins over Hawthorne and Santa Monica last week proves the Centaurs are ready to challenge first place Lawndale for the Ocean league championship.
Second place Culver City is 13-6 overall and 3-1 in league play. First place Lawndale is 12-8 overall and 4-0 in league. Both teams are headed for a championship clash on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. at Culver City but both teams cannot afford to look pass their two league games this week.
Culver City played Beverly Hills on the road last Wednesday and they travel to El Segundo on Friday for a 6 p.m. contest. “I would like to see how consistent we can be before I say we are back to where we want to be,” said Centaur head coach Julian Anderson after they beat Santa Monica last Friday. “We are a young team and we have to learn that we have a target on our backs because we are the defending champions.”
Anderson wants his team to learn to trust each other. “This group of players is going to have to learn to help each other get better,” said Anderson. “It’s going to take a group effort. That’s the only way that this team will get better because we don’t have that one player like Michelle Curry or Kailey Tooke that can score 25 to 30 points per game. Once they learn that we will be okay.”
The boys’ basketball team is currently 7-15 overall and 2-2 in Ocean league play. Despite their losing record the team is still in the playoff hunt. They are tied for third place in league play with Lawndale but their 82-53 blowout loss to Santa Monica last Friday was very disappointing. The Centaurs matched the Vikings basket for basket in the first half but Santa Monica dominated the second half. “The first half we showed we could compete with Santa Monica but the second half we let their shooters get open,” said junior guard Brandon Libertore. “We need to keep coming out with intensity and don’t relax in the second half of the games.”
Culver City boys travel to El Segundo on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to face an Eagle team that they beat a few weeks ago at home. On Wednesday they battle Lawndale at home at 7:30 p.m. and next Friday they play Hawthorne at home at 7:30 p.m. The Centaurs need to win there next three games if they expect to make the CIF playoffs.
Eskridge thinks his team has the talent to compete against elite teams like Santa Monica but he like they are lacking mental toughness. “I hope we understand that when we play good teams like Santa Monica we need to bump up our intensity,” said Eskridge. “When they were challenged in the first half they went up a gear in the second half. It’s a difference in mentality.”
The boys’ soccer team is 12-5 overall and 3-0 in the Ocean league. The first place Centaurs have five more league games to play starting with a 6 p.m. game against El Segundo on Friday at home. They have two more home games next week against Lawndale on Wednesday and Hawthorne on Friday. Both games will start at 6 p.m.
The first place girls’ soccer team is currently 8-5 overall and 3-0 in Ocean league play. Their next game is Friday at home against El Segundo at 3 p.m. On Monday at 3 p.m. they travel to Santa Monica for a battle between the two first place teams. The winner of that game will move into sole possession of first place. On Wednesday they are on the road against Lawndale at 3 p.m. and they stay on the road against Hawthorne at 4 p.m. on Friday.