SPORTS Friday, January 25, 2008 Girls Basketball
www.valleychristian.net
THE WARRIOR
19
Continued from Page 1
number of free-throw opportunities, the girls were unable to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes, which resulted in a tight game in the final minutes of play. However, the Warriors pulled it out in the end and finished the game with score of 5957. On December 27, the Warriors played their first game in the West Coast Jamboree against Foothill High School. Establishing an early lead, the girls dominated the court and earned a final victory, 62-48. In the second round of tournament play, the Lady Warriors faced off against Vanden High School and pulled out an impressive win, 62-50. The championship game proved to be much more challenging for the Warriors, as they took on Bishop O’Dowd High School from Oakland. The game was very intense with both teams vying for the championship title, but in the final minutes Bishop O’Dowd barely pushed ahead and claimed a nail-biting 42-41 victory over the Warriors. This game marked the end of the Lady Warriors’ perfect 12-0 record and sparked a new determination within the girls’ minds as they prepared for their first league game of the season against St. Francis on January 3. The Lady Warriors did not fail to disappoint in their first WCAL game against the Lancers. The girls efficiently moved the ball around on offense and earned scoring opportunities for their entire team. Sophomore point guard AJ Newton amazed and scored a solid 16 points along with eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals, earning her the coveted position of Mercury News Athlete of the
Week. Securing their first league win, the Warriors came out on top with a final score of 55-40. On January 5, the Lady Warriors took on the Gators of Sacred Heart Prep and proved their ability to dominate the floor. Their quick passing and aggressive offense led them to a solid victory, 6730, over their opponents. The girls faced off against Presentation High School on January 9 and showed, once again, that
they are a force to be reckoned with. The Warriors’ stayed strong on defense and forced their opponents to make numerous offensive adjustments. Their quick hands resulted in many open lay-ups, as the girls would quickly steal the ball and run it up the floor. These fast-break opportunities kept the Warriors in control and rewarded them a well-earned final victory, 56-48. On January 11 came the most
Junior Jazmine Ross passes for one of her many assists against Tracy High School.
anticipated game of the Warriors’ entire season, as they welcomed the Sacred Heart Cathedral national champions into their home gym. After surviving intense practices and much hard work, the Warriors were prepared to take on the best of the best in high school girls basketball. The game started off with both teams staying fairly close on the scoreboard. However, in the second half, Sacred Heart Cathedral began to gain the momentum with countless fastbreaks and a rapid offense. The Warriors struggled to gain open shot opportunities and were unable to recover their intensity. In the end, the Warriors fell to the Irish, 51-35. On January 12, the girls faced off against St. Ignacius High School and struggled to gain their footing early. Falling behind, the Lady Warriors were unable to recover and lost this disappointing game, 60-46. However, the Warriors were able to shake off these two sudden losses and regain their momentum as played against Mitty on January 16. The game came down to the final few minutes with the Warriors ahead by two points, when Mitty scored a three-pointer to gain a one-point lead. The Warriors did not give up, but instead fled down the court, ready to score. With 2.1 seconds left, the ball was passed to Newton who drained a beautiful floater from the elbow of the court, securing an exciting Warrior victory. According to head coach Richard Harris, this was Valley Christian’s first win over Mitty in school history and the team could not be more excited or ready to take on the rest of their season.
JV Girls Basketball Takes First in Monte Vista Tournament By CJ Wrye Junior Sports Editor
The New Year has come and with it comes the second half of the JV girls basketball season. The ladies have been fighting hard this year and so far, have had a very successful season. The ladies proved their strength over Christmas Break at the Monte Vista Tournament. The Warriors opened the tournament against Evergreen High School on Wednesday December 26. The ladies worked together and defeated Evergreen 54-46. Next, the Warriors took on Wilcox High. The Warriors offense was on fire this game overcoming Wilcox 55-32. For the semifinals the Warriors played Carlmot High and was determined to make it into the Championship. The Warriors defense shined this game keeping Carlmont behind the Warriors offense. In a close 52-46 victory over Carlmont the ladies were ready to go all the way. For the championship the Warriors played Lynnbrook high and were prepared to fight until the end. The Warriors defeated Lynnbrook 44-21
Freshman Danielle Furr puts up 2 against Tracy.
taking home the gold at the Monte Vista tournament. Sophomores Danielle Furr and Briana Cotton were named to the all tourney team, a great accomplishment for
the two JV players. The Warriors continued the second half of their season on Thursday January 3 against powerhouse St. Francis.
The Warriors played hard, yet they fell short by ten points to the Lancers in a 2737 loss. To days later the Warriors played Sacred Heart Prep on Saturday January 5. The Warriors defense held them tight which allowed more scoring opportunities for the Warriors. In an easy win with a score of 44-25 the Warriors prepared for their next game. On Wednesday January 9 the Warriors took on their rivals the Presentation Panthers. After a long hard game the Panthers defeated the Warriors 43-36. Next the Ladies faced off against the number one Sacred Heart Cathedral Irish. The Warriors were easily defeated 14-56, yet they played with incredible heart. The JV girls basketball continues to work hard to prepare for their upcoming games.
Freshmen Girls Basketball Plays Hard to Achieve Excellence By Megan McKinley Staff Writer As the winter cold sets in, the freshmen girls basketball team started off their season with some heat. Before Christmas break the team was excelling in their game and cooperation, but after break the basketball routine seemed hard to get back into. But according to the team’s captain, freshmen Rebecca Roth, practicing has really started to pay off, “We had a hard time coming back after break. But since practicing, we have improved to become better than at the start of the season.” Coach John Haggerty, who also coached the freshmen girls volleyball team in the fall, seems to be doing a great
job pulling the team together. One of the freshmen team’s guard, Shalmalee Pandit, said, “We have the most extraordinary team with various personalities that all seem to laugh together. But even though our personalities are very unique we seem to bond together as a family.” Roth seems to be having a great time being a captain along with co-captain freshmen Morgan Rosa-Diniz. “It’s cool being team captain [because] I can show leadership,” said Roth. But Roth takes on a different view of the captain’s role. “Even though I’m captain I’m still one of
the other players.” The point guard also said, “Yeah I’m captain, but I’m not real special.” Roth is a good team captain and role model because she models a great team player and shows humility, which is a huge factor when playing a sport. In the West Catholic League, the competition is tougher, but in the freshmen girls pre-season games, they beat Tracy, Saratoga, and Gunn high schools. Although the team has lost all the league games of the season, the team won all but one preseason game, and did exceptionally well in the James Logan Winter Jam Tournament, winning second place out of eight teams.
In fact, at the James Logan Winter Jam Tournament, freshmen Emnet Mekonen, was awarded the Most Valuable Player on the girls basketball team for her talented athletic abilities. On January 9th, the girls freshmen team lost a tough game against Presentation with a final score of 22-38. And in games against Saint Francis the girls lost 21- 41. On January 11th the girls team lost in a hard match 11 to 61 against Sacred Heart Cathedral. And on Saturday January 12th against St. Ignatius the girls lost in a difficult game with the score of 8 to 48.