Most of the varsity winter sports teams would like to forget their performances in the first half of Ocean League play with the exception of one team; the girls’ basketball team, which continues to dominate the Ocean League.
The lady Centaurs are 34-0 during the past four years in the Ocean League. They are currently 4-0 and hope to be 6-0 by the end of the week. Overall the Centaurs are 11-9 and they face Lawndale at home on Friday and travel to El Segundo on Wednesday. Both games start at 6 p.m.
The mark of a good team is to be able to win games when it doesn’t play at its best. That’s what happened to the lady Centaurs last Friday when they barely beat Hawthorne after taking a commanding lead in the first half.
“Sometimes I think we are resting on our laurels,” said head coach Julian Anderson. “We need to fine tune our practices. My whole objective is to watch the kids get better. That’s what I really care about.”
Culver City’s leading scorer Kailey Tooke and the rest of the Centaurs had a bad shooting night against Hawthorne.
“I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself when my shot is not falling because I have a lot of great teammates to help me out,” Tooke said. “We need to keep winning and stay focused the whole game.”
When things don’t go as planned, the team looks at other alternatives.
“If you have a bad shooting night you can make up for it by playing good defense,” assistant coach Tom Nakayama said.
Boys’ Hoops
The boys’ basketball game was a carbon copy of the girls’ game. The Centaurs jumped out to a 14-point lead against Hawthorne in the first quarter and held on to win by four points, 62-58.
“We need to get tougher,” said head coach Adam Eskridge. “That’s what we have been talking about the last couple of games. We need to be more physical. We have to be more consistent. It’s a matter of repeating the good plays and taking care of the ball.”
The boys are currently 8-12 and 1-3 in the league play. They host Lawndale on Friday and travel to El Segundo on Wednesday. Both games will start at 7:30 p.m.
Just for Kicks
The girls’ soccer team recorded their first league win last week when they beat Hawthorne 4-1. Before the win against Hawthorne the girls’ team had lost five games in a row.
“We changed our formation against Hawthorne and that really helped us,” said senior captain Isabela Avincola. “We need to finished plays. We are working really hard in practice and we are improving. My job as captain is to keep the players motivated.”
The girls travel to Lawndale on Friday and host a good El Segundo team on Wednesday. Both games will start at 3 p.m.
The boys’ soccer team will battle Lawndale this Friday on the Culver City campus and travel to Santa Monica next Friday. Both games will start at 3 p.m.
