With George Laase

Most of the Culver City High School 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 continues to dominate the Ocean. They are 34 -0 over the past four years in league. Currently 4-0, the Lady Centaurs hope to be 6-0 by the end of the week.  Overall 11-9, they face Lawndale at home on Friday and travel to El Segundo on Wednesday.  Both are 6 o’clock games.

A Distinctive Trait

The mark of a good team is to be able to win games when you don’t play your best.  That’s what happened to the Lady Centaurs last Friday.  They barely beat Hawthorne after taking a commanding lead in the first half.   “Sometimes I think we are resting on our laurels,” said 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,” said Tooke. “I   have a lot of great teammates to help me out.  We need to keep winning and stay focused the whole game.”

When things don’t go the way you plan, it’s time to look at alternatives according to assistant coach Tom Nakayama. “If you have a bad shooting night you can make up for it by playing good defense,” he said.

The boys’ basketball game was a carbon copy of the girls’.  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 coach Adam Eskridge. “That’s what we have been talking about the last couple of games. More physical.  More consistent.  It’s a matter of repeating the good plays and taking care of the ball.”  

The boys are 8-12 and 1-3 in the league play.  They host Lawndale on Friday at 7:30 and travel to El Segundo on Wednesday at 7:30. 

The girls’ soccer team recorded their first league win last week, 4-1 over Hawthorne. They had lost five in a row. “We changed our formation against Hawthorne,” said senior captain Isabela Avincola. “That really helped.  We need to finish plays. We are working hard in practice, and we are improving.  My job as captain is to keep the players motivated.”

The girls travel to Lawndale on Friday for a 3 o’clock match. They host a good El Segundo team on Wednesday at 3.

The boys’ soccer team is home against  Lawndale on Friday at 3 and travels to Santa Monica next Friday at 3.

Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@apol.com

Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com