With additional reporting by George Laase.
Then there was one.
Last week three girls teams from Culver City High School entered the playoffs.
When the week was over, only one stood, the Lady Centaurs basketball players.
But their 18-10 season abruptly ended last night when Los Alamitos defeated Culver City, 44-30, last night in the Del Goodyear Gym.
They fell too far behind in the first half when they shot 2-for-30.
“Nevertheless, it was a great season,” athletic director Tom Salter said this morning. “The girls have so much to be proud about, especially the seniors.
“They finished undefeated in the Ocean League for all four of their seasons.”
Last week, the Lady Centaurs lost their CIF playoff matches in soccer and water polo, closing the curtain on winter.
The basketball team scored a 63-43 home victory over Quartz Hill last Saturday in the highly competitive 1AA CIF playoffs that temporarily kept their 11-game winning streak alive.
After the Quartz Hill game, Culver City coach Julian Anderson said that “we played really well.
“Sharp and pretty much on point.
“We still need our bench players to step up and keep the momentum going.”
The Lady Centaurs made eight three-pointers against Quartz Hill.
Senior center Gwendolyn Machado was a key inside player for the Lady Centaurs.
Staying out of foul trouble and scoring inside were her challenges.
“She was our X factor,” said Anderson. “She is a good rebounder, and if she can score, she can turn a game around.”
Kailey Tooke led Culver City with 17 points against Quartz Hill.
“I felt good against Quartz Hill,” she said. “It was a good start to the playoffs.”
Culver City was dominated this season by quick sharp shooting guards like Katie Lin.
“We needed to cut down on our turnovers and put ourselves in better positions on defense,” Lin said
Every successful team has a player who surprises.
This year that was freshman guard Hayley Yamamoto. She played like a senior on the court, and after games, she was all smiles. “It’s really cool to play at the varsity level,” said Yamamoto. “I did not think I was going to play varsity this year.
“This is more intense than I thought it would be.”
Quartz Hill was led by their All-CIF Katilin Stephenson, averaging 19 points and 22 rebounds. Against Culver City she scored 19 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had four block shots.
“Culver City is a great team,” Stephenson said. “You could tell they really wanted to win. They were aggressive. Their outside shooting was excellent.”
Supporting Tooke against Quartz Hill were Megan Yoon with 15, Alexis Arancibia had eight, Lin scored six and Lindsey Tanita and Machado both scored five points.
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
