By Mike Cohen
Sports Editor
George Laase
Sports Correspondent
The Lady Centaur water polo team remained undefeated in the Ocean League, beating the El Segundo High School Eagles, 12-1, Jan. 24, earning preferred seeding in the upcoming CIF preliminaries.
“It was intense. El Segundo always beats us. For once, I am happy we beat them,” said Ruth Basurto.
“My teammates and I are achieving a goal. I love my teammates. We communicate a lot. If we do that every game, we will be successful,” said Basurto.
“It was an amazing game. We communicated, ran plays and had good shots. We have worked well together since our freshman year,” said Olivia Valdez.
WATER POLO: Briel Huerta lines up a shot. The Lady Centaurs are undefeated in the Ocean League as they beat the Eagles of El Segundo, 12-1, Jan. 24.
Photo by George Laase
Girls soccer team
Keeps streak alive
By Mike Cohen
Sports Editor
George Laase
Sports Correspondent
The Centaur girls soccer team stayed unbeaten in league topping Morningside, 8-2, Jan. 25, and blanking Beverly Hills, 1-0, Jan. 23.
Culver City (13-5 overall, 6-0 in league) hosts Inglewood, Friday Feb. 1, and Hawthorne, Tuesday, Feb. 5, both at
“We were sluggish in the 1-0 win over Beverly. We were fortunate to capitalize on their mistake,” said Centaur head coach Scott Mair.
“Beverly Hills is physical, and we’re smaller. We held our own,” said Monica Patton.
SOCCER: Sydney Hibbs fights through a hold to take the ball away from Beverly Hills Norman mid-fielder Kaela Reisfelt. In the Jan. 23 game, the Lady Centaurs (12-5 overall, 5-0 in league) beat the Normans (8-7-2, 4-1), 1-0, to take sole possession of first place in the Ocean League.
Photo by George Laase
Lady Centaurs beat rival Beverly Hills 62-42
By Mike Cohen
Sports Editor
George Laase
Sports Correspondent
Culver City High School Lady Centaurs took advantage of a 12-run in the second half to defeat Beverly Hills, 62-42 on Jan. 23.
“We did a good job of pursuing ball, but we have to do a better job of using our feet, not our hands on defense,” said head coach Julian Anderson.
The Lady Centaurs (16-5 overall, 5-0 in league) lost to Serra, 66-49, Jan. 21, in a non-league encounter.
The Centaurs play at Inglewood on Saturday, Feb. 1.
By Mike Cohen
Sports Editor
George Laase
Sports Correspondent
Centaur basketball players are in every game because of their defense, but trust issues are marring their ability to put the ball through the hoop, said head coach Adam Eskridge, whose Culver City High School boys basketball team is 1-5 in league and 6-16 overall.
The Centaurs visit Inglewood, Friday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m., and will meet Hawthorne at Culver High, Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
In a Jan. 25 41-40 loss to Morningside at the Del Goodyear Gymnasium in Culver City, Eskridge bemoaned his squad’s inability to convert on opportunities.
“We’re busting our butts on defense. We’re fighting and grinding, but can’t put the ball in the basket,” the coach lamented.
He said his squad must execute the offense.
“We are not committed to running our plays all the way through. We do not trust ourselves and each other to make that pass or make that shot. We are in every game because of our defense. We’ve got to find some offense,” Eskridge said.
The Centaurs played another close, low scoring game as they started the second round of league play at home, Jan. 25, against Morningside.
They held a 9-8 lead after the first quarter and fell behind at halftime 23-22 to the Monarchs.
Culver City trailed 41-40 with 11 seconds left in the game. Morningside missed a free throw, but got the rebound and called timeout. J.R. Montgomery stole the inbound pass, headed down court and saw his contested lay-up bounce off the rim.
Armani Nicolis had eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Owen Furuta chipped in with four assists and four steals.
Culver City finished the first round of league play, Jan. 23, at Beverly Hills High School with three quarters of solid defense and a 34-31 lead. The Centaurs were ice cold in the fourth quarter, and the Normans scored a majority of its points from the free throw line for a 48-38 win.
Cameron Robinson was Culver City’s defensive player of the game with 11 defensive rebounds. Montgomery had three steals, three assists and three rebounds.
“We need to play with composure. There are too many mishaps. Coach has good plays set up for us. We need to convert,” said Chris Edwards, who contributed three steals and four rebounds.
“We need to close out games,” said Salvador de Leon.
Missing three of their four “big men,” Culver High struggled in a 58-39 loss against LACES in the Martin Luther King Classic, Jan. 21, at Redondo Union High School. A halftime Centaur deficit of 31-22 turned into an overwhelming 55-30 advantage for LACES after three quarters.
Quick, difficult shots and 17 turnovers led to fast breaks, open shots and free throws for the Unicorns.
Nicolis had eight 8 rebounds. De Leon had seven rebounds and four assists.
The Centaurs close out league hosting Beverly Hills, Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m.