ON OUR WAY TO CIF

On Our Way to CIF

Preface

This is going to be where I write the play-by-play's of the season. It is almost going to be like my journal where I tell all about my day in the life of a player on the THS basketball team. I don't know how often I will update this, but I plan on writing in it as the season kicks in and we start playing some games. Everything will be from my view-point, so things I might say are my opinion and not necessarily the view of the entire team.

Conclusion

February 23, 2000 Everything has to come to an end, and when you go out the only thing you are left with is the feeling of accomplishment and pride knowing that you tried your best and that you gave it everything you got in the end. Today was our end, the end of the season and eight great high school careers. But, we have nothing to be ashamed about; we lost to the number two-seeded team in our division and they deserve everything that they have going for them. Today was just not our day. To begin with, our starting center was unable to even come to the game because of illness and our backup was forced to play through a heavy cold. In addition to this, during the second quarter of the game, one of our starting guards (the one that usually carries us on her shoulders busting three point shots) re-injured her thumb and could not return to the game. So, with what we had we played extremely well. Foothill, the opposing team, got out to a really fast start and just pounded the ball into the paint where we were weak. This team has a guard that is as tall as the tallest post on our team. And so we were at a disadvantage from the start losing our 6'2" shot blocker. But, we played hard throughout the game, and even when we were down by twenty we all still played like it was only three and it ended 27-62. This was by far the worst loss of the season; but then again we have not played a team of this caliber in a long time. So, this is it, the end; no more practices no more games and no more basketball for a long time. In all, we have nothing to be ashamed about this season. We accomplished almost everything that we set out to do in the beginning of the season and there really were no big disappointments. We didn't win the league championship but we did go to the playoffs and win our first and only CIF game. So, they kind of balance each other out and leave us in the middle. But it is better to be in the middle than be left on the losing end. So, as the season and this web page comes to a close, all I can say is that it has been really worth while to be doing what I've been doing and that I wouldn't trade anything in for the world.

February 19, 2000 The title of this section is "On Our Way to CIF", and I chose that because the entire goal of high school basketball is to just make it to the playoffs. And, tonight we accomplished that task by playing Santiago of Garden Grove. Having a chance to play in a CIF playoff game is one thing, but winning is another, and tonight we rocked and kicked some butt (excuse my language) winning 56-43. I have never felt a feeling like what my teammates and I felt today as we finally won a CIF game. All of last year's disappointments were momentarily forgotten and all I could feel was the greatest sense of accomplishment and joy. The feeling is almost indescribable, ineffable. Going back to the game, it turned out that the point guard that we spent so much time worrying about did not even play on that team anymore and so we were left playing the same old defenses and offenses that we have used all season long. Santiago did have one player that stood out among the crowd, but she got into foul trouble in the first half and later went out permanently because of cramps. In the beginning we again got out to a slow start, but because of three-point shooting we were able to stay even in the first quarter and pull ahead to as much as a twenty point lead in the second quarter, giving us a nice cushion to win the game. Again, Alice Wang carried us on her shoulders in the first half making four three-point shots. In addition to this, Ada Yu and Nicole Shimizu, our freshman, each made two. There is a saying the you live and die by the three point line, and today we were living making a total of ten three pointers. After we raced out to our lead, the opposing team lost all confidence and the game was really not as close as the score shows. In the end, we won by only thirteen points, 56-43. And now our next game is most likely to be at home against the number two seeded team in our division, Foothill. So, we are going to expect many people to come to this game since there hasn't been a basketball playoff home game in years at Torrance High. But even so, tonight was our night, and even though we didn't play the best basketball that we can play, it will go down in history as the biggest win of our high school careers. With this win, it makes all the pain and suffering throughout my four years at Torrance High School totally worth it; everything falls into place and there are no regrets.

February 18, 2000 Well, this is it, playoff time. On Sunday CIF came out with the seedings and we found out that we are going to play Santiago of Garden Grove on Saturday, which is now tomorrow. Doing a little research and calling some friends, we have found as much information about the opposing team that we could. We believe that they finished, I forgot now, either second or third in their league and that they have only one main player that we have to focus on. She is the point guard and reading her most likely inflated stats, she averages about 6 assists and 18 points a game. So, we thought if we only can contain her, then we will be fine come game time. The next few practices we focused on chasing one main player getting ready for the game. But, things changed when we actually found a game tape of the team. The game was from really early in the season, but it showed us a lot about what to expect and what not to expect. It also showed us that this point guard was nothing more that what we have already faced this season and our glorified picture of her came back down to earth. We are now going into the game with a small sense of confidence, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. We are on the longest losing streak of the year and for most of us it is now or never. This is going to be our last chance to win a CIF playoff game and if we win(fingers crossed), we will actually play our next game at home against the number two seeded team. But again I'm thinking too far ahead. I just want to salvage what ever is left of this season, if any, and win one more game. I don't think that it's asking too much. We have all worked way too hard this year to let it end the way it is. One more game, one more victory, and all is forgotten...until the next game. So, tomorrow it is off to Santiago, 7:30, and by 9:00 all should be decided.

February 10, 2000 Ever since our game last Friday against Mira Costa, things have been going downhill. In the span of less than six days, we have lost all three important games dropping us from first place in league to tied for second. Today's loss against Culver City in our last regular season game just added to our sufferings. This was a really fast game with the first two quarters going by as quick as a breeze. We never really got into the game; shots weren't falling and lay-ups were being missed, but we found ourselves down by only a few points at halftime. But added troubles came in the second half. In addition to our time old trouble of rebounding and boxing out that have become more noticeable in our past two games, we now had trouble getting the ball past half court and moving the ball on offense. It almost feels like we are going backwards in our progression. At the end of regulation and the end of the regular season, we lost 36-28. This was the lowest point total in a long time. Right now, it feels like this team is falling apart. If I go back to the analogy of climbing a mountain, after we failed reaching the top we then lost our grip of the mountain all together and are now plunging headlong into a deep abyss. There is no telling if we can somehow get a new foot hold that would keep us from our new fate, but it is for certain that we are on our own and nobody can save us but ourselves. All together this has been a really bad six days. After failing at our chance to get first place in league by losing to Mira Costa, we then lose our next game against Leuzinger and our hold on second place. But, to make matters worse, if we had beaten Leuzinger we now know that we would have been tied for first place because on that same day Mira Costa lost to Culver City dropping them one game back. So, now the standing are this: tied for first place are Mira Costa and Leuzinger who have both loss three games and now tied for second place (because of our loss today) are Culver City and us, Torrance high. It is easy to look back and think what could have, would have or should have happen in those last three games. But now the fact stands that we have lost three straight games going into CIF playoffs making it especially hard for us to get past even the first round. Things are looking grim for this team right now. All we can do now is pray for a good seeding in CIF and hope that this basketball season will not end like it is. Though things are looking down right now, anything is possible, and so anything can be achieved, even miracles.

February 8, 2000 Things change so quickly in the game of basketball. Games can be won in the last seconds and dreams can be lost in milliseconds. With today's loss against Leuzinger and in the span of two games, we dropped from first place in league to third. Things looked really good in the beginning of the game, we were ahead by a little and it looked as though we were going to have a good game and execute on both offense and defense. But, things don't always turn out the way you would hope or expect them to. Our main nemesis this game was boxing out and rebounding. Leuzinger is such an athletic team that they can throw up any shot and just jump and rebound the ball putting it easily back into the hoop. And, since we couldn't do the job keeping them away from the boards, we ended up losing the game 37-40. We had our chances throughout the game. Leuzinger wasn't making their free throws and they even missed some easy lay-ups but we couldn't capitalize on their mistakes. Throughout the fourth quarter we incessantly stole the ball, ran down the court in a fast break and missed the shot. If we had just made a few of those shots the outcome of the game may have been different. But we didn't. It got interesting in the end when we were down by four with about a minute to go. Ada Yu stepped out and busted a three to bring us within only one point. But after wasting some time trying to foul, the girl we put to the line made both free-throws putting them up by three. Then, with only seconds left, we desperately threw up three point shots, but none of them fell and that is how we lost it by only three points. Now we are definitely going to be in third place, we are still going to be in the CIF playoffs, but the chances are that we are going to have to play a high seeded team in the first round. So, we have one more game left in this season and the only thing it really means is pride. We have to win to show ourselves that we actually can win and that we actually can pull it all together when we have to. Playing Culver City in Culver City is not going to be an easy task, but in our final game of the regular season we will show not only everybody but also ourselves what we are truly made of.

February 4, 2000 On this night of February 4, 2000, we played Mira Costa in the biggest game of our lives. Before it started, everyone knew the importance of this game. If we win, we have a chance to be league champions, if we lose, the best we can do it second place. Nobody wanted to lose, we all wanted this game so badly, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. There was only one factor that led us to our defeat- Tara Whiteside. From the start of the game she was on fire. Everything she shot, short jumpers, long jumpers, three-pointers- they all seemed to find the bottom of the net. I'm almost certain that in the first half she didn't miss one shot…or maybe just one. But, with the number of shots she took, she pretty much defeated our entire team single handedly. It wasn't like we didn't play well either; it was just that our shots weren't falling. This was probably the first game in which we didn't make any three-pointers, well maybe we made one, but that is usually one of our major weapons. But, again this wasn't our day. Mira Costa got out to a quick lead early in the game that we never overcame. A few times we went on a run and got close, but they would always answer, or Whiteside would always answer in one way or another. So, we ended up losing it 41-49, and with it all our dreams of becoming league champions were lost. What a way to go out for all the seniors. This was our last home game ever, barring that we are going to play at home during CIF, and we shall always remember losing in our final game when the championship was so close yet so far away. But, there will always be the good memories too, but it is just hard to think of any at the moment. So, our next game is going to be on Tuesday against Leuzinger. Now we are playing for second place and a good bid into CIF. The next two games are going to be tough, maybe as tough as this game was. But, there is now no added pressure of winning the championship, and maybe that will lift the burden enough to propel us into victory. The only thing to look forward to now is the beginning of the CIF playoffs, but even so, this was a great season and it doesn't have to end this way.

February 2, 2000 On this Groundhog Day we played Beverly Hills in a gym appropriately called the "swim gym". This versatile gym consists of a pool used for the water polo team and has a retractable floor that is used for basketball. It is a really great idea, but I don't think that anyone ever thought of the side effects such as the smell of chlorine during the basketball games. But, since we spent most of the day today in practice gyms because of a water polo game, the stench didn't get to us as much as it did last year. In the game, we got out to a slow start and it was pretty even all the way through the first half. But, in the second half, because of Alice Wang's hot shooting, we pulled ahead and kept it to win 46-33. We didn't play as well as we wanted to or should have played, but it is a win nevertheless. Tomorrow, practice is going to be as hard as it gets in preparation for Friday's game against Mira Costa. I have been building up to this game for the past week, and now it is almost here. There is just so much riding on this game that it almost seems like it is for the championship title itself. I really feel that we can beat this team. The local paper has already stated that we are not expected to win and that we are the underdogs. But, that doesn't mean anything. All that matters now is that we get in some good practice time and come Friday, we play our hearts out. We can't hold anything back because there is no tomorrow. This is the final test, but it is only part one of three tests before CIF. If we can pass all three tests, then we will be in fine position to make a run and do well in CIF. But for now, just more practice until six o'clock p.m. comes and the biggest game of our lives finally starts.

January 31, 2000 This game against Hawthorne was only a warm-up for Friday's game against Mira Costa. We had a quick start, and on the shoulders of Alice Wang who scored 3 three-point baskets in the first period, it looked as though we were going to run away with it. But, that was not so because in the second period, as a result of many turnovers and bad decision, Hawthorne came back and reduced our lead to only 8. But, right before half time we went a scoring run and pushed the lead back up to 13, 26-13. In the second half, everything went back to running smoothly and our lead increased as we eventually won it 56-27. We didn't play especially well today, and we are going to need a lot more practice if we are going to be able to compete with the big teams later on. I can't emphasize enough the importance of Friday's game against Mira Costa. If we win, we will stand alone in first place atop the Ocean league. But, if we lose we will drop back to second with almost no chance of getting back up there again. Then, even if we do win our game on Friday, we are not out of the woods yet because we still have to finish the season and play two teams that want to beat us really badly. Leuzinger and Culver City are two physical teams that will not be anything close to pushovers, and in addition to that, these two games are both going to be away. So, even if we win on Friday, it doesn't mean that anything is certain, and that is still only if we win of Friday. But even so, we still have another warm-up game on Wednesday versus Beverly Hills, and if we can overcome the noxious fumes that emit from the gym/pool floor, we will then hopefully be ready for the game Friday, at home against Mira Costa. We can't take anything for granted, and it is going to take everybody's heart, soul, and strength to pull us all through these next few games. Going back to my analogy at the beginning of this page, we are now almost on the final leg of our journey. We can see the peak from where we are now, but we can also see the treacherous obstacles that are in our way. But, if we can get through those obstacles all together and all in tact, we will finally complete our journey and stand alone atop of the mountain.

January 28, 2000 In our first game in El Segundo's gym, we won 50-13. This was the first year that a girls' basketball team was formed at El Segundo, and so this was a great game to start off the first of many games that are going to be played at El Segundo High. The game started off pretty fast with both teams scoring relatively quickly. But after that, El Segundo didn't score many other points. By half time they only scored 4 points, all by the same player, and with the help of Alice Wang's 3 three point shots, the game was already over before it started. We still kind of played at the level of the opposing team. But, since this team was so new and inexperienced, they just had a lot of trouble against our starting five of seniors. For some reason, the referees in this game were the same ones that refereed in the horribly controlled Leuzinger game. And this time, they didn't do any better. For example, with one second left on the clock before half time, one of our players was distinctly fouled and knocked to the ground. But, because we were ahead by so many points, they didn't even give her any foul shots, or even call the foul for that matter. I mean, all's fair and we were up by a lot of points, but still I think that she at least deserved to get her points. Anyway, our next game is next Monday against Hawthorne, and it is getting a few days closer to the showdown next Friday against Mira Costa. I have learned that in addition to being our seniors night, the school band is going to be in attendance, putting more noise and pressure on all of us. But, it will just add to the mood, and hopefully it will affect Mira Costa more than it does us, but probably not. So, there are only two more weeks of games before CIF begins. Earlier this week, Leuzinger lost to Mira Costa in a very physical game in which one player was accused of biting another. What that means for us is that we are now only tied with Mira Costa for the first place spot in league standings while the previously ranked Leuzinger team drops to second. So, even more is being put on the line, the fight for number one, in this upcoming game. But, still two more games before then and a lot more practices before we get our first taste of the CIF atmosphere this year.

January 25, 2000 Our last game against West was uneventful as we won 48-39. We got out to a pretty quick start, but as always we played at the level of the opposing team again (hence the score). But, in all we didn't play that bad. There were parts where we really shined, and there were parts where we looked like a bunch of freshman playing their first game. We still had a little trouble playing against the zone defense, but our shooting wasn't too bad and we mainly scored off of fast breaks and Julie Barlow grabbing a rebound and putting it back into the basket. Our next few games are all going to be just a warm-up for the show down next friday against Mira Costa. This time the game is going to be at home, so maybe that will give us the edge we need to pull out the victory. Actually, all I think we need to do is play our kind of basketball and not get into foul trouble and we'll be fine. In today's game, we actually didn't get into fould trouble the entire game. A few players got 2 fouls in the first half, but beside that we were relatively foul trouble free. It could have been partly due to the referees that wouldn't call anything at all either way, but it also could have been due to the fact that we are learning to play defense with our feet instead of our hands. So, our next game is on Friday against El Segundo and this will be our first time playing in El Segundo's gym. But until then, this is final's week and I gotta go study.

January 21, 2000 Today, we played Culver City, a team that looked really different from last year. Last year, they won league going undefeated, but this year they are in second place, behind all of us tied for first. The first quarter was the slowest quick quarter I have ever experienced. It took both teams until the 4 minute mark to finally score a basket, but after the quarter ended, we were up by 10. It looked as though we were going to run away with the game, but later in the second half Culver City stormed back, with the help of the worst officiating I have ever seen, and by the middle of the fourth quarter we were almost even. During the last seconds, our lead of 20 points was entirely gone and Culver City took a one point lead. But, with only one minute to go, Julie Barlow crashed the boards hard and was rewarded with one of the only calls in our favor in the game. She went to the line, knowing we crucially needed both baskets and calmly put them both in. It still wasn't over. Culver then took the ball down, and after a few bobbles here and there, scored another lay-up to put them ahead by one again. Going with our plan of no time-outs, we pushed the ball up and there Alice Wang took the ball strong to the hole and scored the winning basket. We won the game 51-50. It took the experience of 5 seniors, and they showed real composure stepping up and leading us to yet another victory. So, now the first half of league games are over and the second half is starting on Tuesday when we play West. Going 6-1 in the first half, we now know what our competition holds and maybe in the second half we can do even better.

January 18, 2000 The biggest win of our season came today against the first place undefeated team of Leuzinger high school. Before the game started, the intimidation was sickening as some players from Leuzinger decided to go and jump one of the freshman after the freshman game. All I know that is that she was beat up pretty badly, but that didn't stop anyone from either team from playing. When the game stated, it was easy to see why this team was in first place. They were almost all natural born athletes with the jumping ability to crash the boards hard after every shot. This was a rough, physical game, but we showed that we could play with the best of them. After half time, we were down by only 3 points after being badly out rebounded and playing only an average game. But, in the second half, we all stepped it up to another level and for once we played our game. Boxing out was the key, and it got us in trouble in the first half, but the second half was a different story. Using our swarm defense we caused the opposing team to make numerous mistakes. After being knocked down going after a ball, we just got back up and dived after it again. Almost everything was going for us this game. Our defense was great, we started to actually puch back while boxing out, and all our shots were falling. The usual players got into early foul trouble again, but at least it was not the entire starting five like the last game. After it was all said and done, we won 48-32. Three players deserve recognition: Alice Wang, Jessica Rapisura and Ada Yu. These three captains scored 10 points each as all three lead us to victory in their own simple ways. So now there is a three way tie for first place in the Ocean League among Leuzinger, Mira Costa and Torrance. Each team has one loss, all to one of the other teams. We lost to Mira Costa, Leuzinger lost to us and Mira Costa lost to Leuzinger. For now, we have one more game left before we start the season all over again, but this time home games become away games and the other way around. Our next game is going to be against Culver City. Last year they won first place in league, but this year I think that they are in second place behind all of us. Even still, we can't take them for granted and we have to come out fired up and ready to play like in tonight's game. Until then, it is time to rest and let old wounds heal before our next game at home on Friday night.

January 14, 2000 There were just so many things going on today, it is hard to find a place to start. One year ago tragedy struck not only one player but the entire team. Through sadness and grief we played one of the best games of our lives, but that was one year ago. This day would be the anniversary of that same day, and we played the same exact team. No one really mentioned it, but it was stuck in the back of my mind and probably in the minds of all the others. We played Mira Costa again, but the outcome this time was different. There is one thing that tells the entire tale of the game, fouls. In the first quarter, we were in double bonus, and so was the other team. But, on the line, we did not convert our free throws and Mira Costa did, making up pretty much their entire lead during the game. In addition to being in double bonus, 4 out of 5 starters got into serious foul trouble in that same first quarter leaving us with no choice but to sit them all out. So, this was the situation. We were in double bonus, and they were in double bonus, but we also had none of our starting five in during most of the game. That explains the entire game. After halftime, we were down by 16 points and in the first couple minutes there was hope as the starters finally went back in and scored 6 quick points. But, things went down hill really fast when even more fouls piled up leaving us in the same position as before. With what we had going for us, we played well, it was just those little things that got in our way. There was also one more thing wrong with todays game, the absence of a major player. I don't think that there has been any other game where we have needed that one player so much. (If you read this, know that I don't blame you, but I can't speak for everyone on the team.) But, it is all over now, we can't go back and we can only go forward. Our next game is going to be at home versus Leuzinger. Recently Leuzinger has been rated one of the top ten teams in the Los Angeles area. Their record was the same as ours, but the quality of teams was most likely different. In the summer, we played that same team and lost and right now they are the number one team in our league. But, they are the same team, and we are the same team, and since we beat them both times last year, there is no reason why we can't do the same this year.

January 12, 2000 After two exciting games from the freshman/sophomore team and the junior varsity team, we took the court facing a bigger and better looking Beverly Hills team than from this fall. The starting five looked somewhat the same, but the second string consisted of players that none of us have ever seen before. As always, we got out to a slow start and Beverly Hills led early in the game. But, we came storming back with our usual short, quick spurts of points and we led by about 15 at halftime. The second half was uneventful, we just tried to work on our defense and offense, and we ended up winning it 45-24. I can't say that we had a bad game, but I also can't say that we had a good game. All I can say is that the next game isn't going to be as easy as this one. We are going to play Mira Costa away and it is going to be our first test of the season. All week it has been leading up to this game, the defining point where we will know for sure what we can really do. Mira Costa ended tied for second place with us last year, both in back of Culver City. This year, we are 4-0 in league while Mira Costa has already suffered a loss to Leuzinger earlier in the season. The real basketball starts now as the next three games we play are going to be the hardest and count the most. In the Ocean League, the top four will consist of Leuzinger, Mira Costa, Culver City and Torrance, but the order is yet to be decided. So, we will play Mira Costa on Friday, then Leuzinger and Culver City next week. But, we won't look too far ahead and we shall focus on one game at a time and concentrate all our energy on beating Mira Costa for now.

January 10, 2000 There's not much I can say about this game today. We came out to a really slow start against Hawthorne, but because of short spurts of energy we built a lead going into half-time. In the second half our lead widened a bit, but we got into a jam being in double bonus, sending the opposing team to the free-throw line for every foul we commited. This caused the game to get really slow and boring making many people lose interest in it all together. In the end, we won 48-32. We did not play well the entire game, our defense was sluggish while we still had trouble against the zone defense on offense. Again, one of our main problems in my mind is that we constantly play at the level of our opponents. We have not shown that we can play well every game, not just during the ones that we have to. As for now, we can get by the average teams, but in the future, we are going to have to step it up another notch or two so that we can compete with the better teams. Our next game is going to be at home against Beverly Hills. They have never been a really good team, but if we keep playing like we are right now, any team can take us by surprise and beat us. So, for now, we just have to practice harder and get ready for our next game on Wednesday and our showdown against Mira Costa on Friday.

January 7, 2000 In our home opener we played El Segundo, a team just formed this year, and we crushed them 74-37. The true lack of experience and newness of El Segundo showed through as our seniors showed them overwelming power in the first few minutes. Overall, we did not really play that well. There were many turnovers and fouls on our part that should not have been commited. On the other hand our shooting looked great, led by Alice Wang, it was one of our best shooting games this year. The only problem of the game came from our mistakes and our non-execution on offense. We have problems playing against zone defenses and we are going to have to overcome these difficulties when the opposing teams get harder. But, that will come with more practice and every game as almost every team is probably going to play us in a zone. Our next game is going to be on Monday against Hawthorne. This is the first game out of three this week alone. Hawthorne looks to be a really tough and physical team and it shall be one of out first real challenges this season. Hopefully we can overpower them with our inside-outside game and pull out another victory. If we can win, then that would gear us up for our show down with Mira Costa this Friday. But until then, focus is the key and determination will show us the way.

January 4, 2000 League games kicked off today as we played West, at West, in our first game of this new season. After watching our junior varsity team lose a heart breaker in double over-time, we had a quick start led by senior Julie Barlow. Throughout the first half we were strong, playing good defense and executing on offense, but during the second half we slacked off. Our biggest lead was only about 15 points, but we played as if we were ahead by 30. Though we won 41-31, the mood after the game was quiet and gloomy, as if we had lost the game. It was all because our high expectations to play perfectly with no let ups or failures, especially on defense. In all it was a victory that goes under the win catagory which brings us up to 8-5 during the entire season. Our next game is going to be at home on Friday against El Segundo. El Segundo is a new team, it was just formed at that school this year so we don't know what to expect. The players can't have that much experience, but we also can't take that for granted. The only thing I know of them is that they were in the Valley Christian tournament with us, but they were in a different pool. We saw one of their games, but they played Valley Christian, one of the best high school teams that I have ever seen, so it was not a good indicator of how good they can be. For now, we have two more days of hard practice until our home opener and then we shall see how good they really are.

December 30, 1999 As I said before, we play at the level of our opponents. But, today our opponent was a highly skilled team, and we played right there with them. This was by far our best game yet, and a great one to end with before league games start. Though we lost to Valencia 38-44, we played great defense and our offense kept with them for three quarters. We led almost the entire game, but the difference came in the fourth quarter when we were scoreless and Valencia gained a ten point lead. There were only two players on the opposing team that could really play basketball, and we shut them down to a point, but they got to us in the end. This game was a real test for us and we showed that we can put it together when it counts. We still need a little work on our finish, but in all I feel that this was our best game yet even though we lost. So, we won second place in this Savanna tournament and all together our record for the tournament season is 7-5. And now that half the year is over, we are gearing up for the start of another season and league games on Tuesday against West. I expect us to do really well in league, hopefull beating all the teams we should beat and maybe beating the teams we know we can beat. Our first game agianst West, like the Cypress game, should not be taken too lightly. We have not seen West play recently and we know that they have improved much over the summer. I expect to win, but the score will show if we played at our level or at theirs. For now, it is time to enjoy the holidays, and if chaos doesn't reign after the supposed Y2K, then we will be back to practice on Monday getting ready for the upcoming season.

December 29, 1999 The game was a little too close for comfort, but we ended up winning it 45-42. We led the entire game but Savanna kept close with most of their points coming off free throws. Down the stretch our star players stepped it up, leading us towards victory. We didn't play exceptionally well today, but we played well enough to stay ahead of the opposing team. It seems as though we can play better than we do, but we always play at the level of the other team. One thing I have to note is the superior quickness of Savanna's number 23. Many people on my team learned to not like her, but her speed reminds me of a recently graduated number 4 from Torrance High. Our next game is going to be our first appearence in the championship game of any tournament. It will be a real test as we are going to play Valencia, a team who beat us in this same tournament last year. If we play well tomorrow, it will show our true character as a team and our real capability to play basketball. This game is going to be a great learning experience for everyone as it is our final game before league games start.

December 28, 1999 It wasn't supposed to be that close. That was all I could think after we won our game against Cypress, in overtime, 46-48. Cypress lead the entire game but we stayed close throughout and tied it up late in the fourth quarter. In the final seconds both we and the opposing team had a chance to go ahead and break the tie winning the game, but we both ended in failure. So, we went into a 4 minute overtime tied 46-46 where Jessica Rapisura scored the first and only shot to win the game. We didn't play well tonight, but we luckily pulled it out in the end. Out of all the games we played against Cypress, this was by far the closest. We had all thirteen players active and ready while one of Cypress' main players was injured. Even so, it was a really great game to watch from the spectator's point of view and most importantly we were victorious in the end. Our next game is going to be against the home team, Savanna, at 7:30 just like the past two games. Their own coach predicts that we will beat them and move on to the finals against Valencia, but we can't let that go to our heads like today. So, we are doing really well in this tournament and have a chance at the championship. Right now we have to focus on the task at hand and just play some basketball.

December 27, 1999 This was the first game all season where we had all thirteen players suited and ready to play. All the players who had ankle or knee problems were cleared to play over the weekend and for some of them this was the first game of the season. We played La Habra, a good team, but we went into it knowing that we could and should beat them. Coming out with a quick start, we lead all the way beating them 51-30. Overall, we played really well together. Our defense was solid and our offense was kicked off by some three point shots early in the game. The next game is going to be against Cypress. During the entire fall league we hosted in October, we played Cypress about four times and beat them three out of the four. But, the thing is that we were playing with our, how should I say it, non-starters. Most of the people who start now were not playing at that time because of other sports or injuries .So, we played Cypress, and all the other teams in the league, with a total of about six players and only two of them starters. The only time we lost to them was when our starting point guard sprained her ankle which left us with a broken point guard and guards that should really be shooting guards. So, we know that we can beat them and that it should be relatively easy, but that can work against us. If we take the game too lightly, they can surprise us and pull it out in the end. I know that they really want to beat us, but it is not up to them; it is up to us to decide the outcome. If we go out there confident and ready to play, we will win, if not, it is going to be a really long game. The fate lies in our hands and I just hope that we can realize this and act in the best possible fashion.

December 18, 1999 In one of the most frusterating games of the season, we loss to Milikan 37-50. It's not the fact that we lost that gets to me, it's how we played. Total lack of confidence, with memory lapses on both offense and defense and foul trouble plauged the entire game. There were some stretches where we outplayed the opposing team, but for the most part, they just toyed with us, starting the second stringers, letting us get close but never ahead. One of the few high point came when Kaity Kadir broke out and hit three straight three pointers to pull us even early in the game. But, once we got into major foul trouble while Milikan's real starters were in, it all fell apart. It will be hard to come back after this loss, but we know that we are better than how we played today and so we shall move on and look ahead to the next tournament. The next and final tournament will be in Savanah where we will play La Habra in the first game. Hopefully, we will finally pull it together and show not only our fans but also ourselves what we really can do.

December 17, 1999 Today's game was a tale of two halves. In the first quarter, Bellflower killed us, outscoring us 25-9 in the first half. We didn't remember playes, couldn't execute plays and had really weak defense. Then, in the second half, things turned around and our defense held Bellflower to only 8 points the entire half. But, our offense was not enough to over come our deficit and win the game. If we could have played as well in the second half as in the first half, we would have won the game. But, basketball is a game of 4 quarters and in order to win, you just have the be the one with the most points when it is all over. Foul trouble plauged us for most of the entire first half with both our starting point guard and shooting guard with three fouls. But, as we played better, our fouls went down while the opposing team's went up, but we still did not win the game. I guess I'm sort of bitter because I know that we could have easily beaten the other team if only we had played 4 quarters of good basketball. I guess it was not meant to be, so now we are going to play tomorrow at 6:30 either against Valley Christian, who has won almost every Olympic League championship since the '70's, or Millikan, who looked as though they were able to beat Valley Christian while we watched their game during the first quarter. Either way, we are going to have a really hard game tomorrow. I just hope that we will feed off this loss today, gaining confidence, and be able to play our best in the next game verses whom ever it shall be.

December 16, 1999 Our winning streak grew to four today with our win over Cabrillo 70-40. The star of the game has to be Jessica Rapisura who made six out of seven three pointers in addition to many short jumpers and lay-ups. This was a break out game for her as she has recently recovered from a minor ankle sprain. Overall the team played very well today and you can see that our confidence is starting to grow stronger. But, we have a really hard game tomorrow against Bellflower at 6:30. The last time we played them two years ago they wiped the floor with us. But for now, I hope, we can play well enough to win tomorrow and become seeded in the championship game on Saturday.

December 15, 1999 We started the Valley Christian tournament really well today with a win over Sunny Hills 52-29. We got out to a quick start and never looked back which is a first for this season. Scoring 52 points, we also accumulated the highest point total of the season and the highest point difference between the two teams. There were only eight players today, because of injuries, school work and misunderstadings, but we all played well together and played one of our best games this season. Our next game will be tommorow at 5:00 verses Cabrillo. If we can win our pool, we will play in the championship game on Saturday. But, there are still two tough games in front of us making it difficult to get too confident too early. So, we're on a winnig streak of three games in a row and tomorrow, hopefully, it will become four.

December 11, 1999 In our final game of the University Tournament, we won thirteenth place in our ten point win over Newport. It was a low scoring game but our defense really stepped it up to a higher level today. I guess it was a good first tournament as we are visibly getting better. Our defense is now working but our offense still needs some work. The next tournament will be at the Valley Christian Tournament in Cerritos. If we do well in the first couple of games, our coach is predicting that we might be able to make it to the finals. But, we still need to work harder and we have two days of practice before our first game on Wednesday at 3:30. So, for now, we have two wins and two losses and I am looking forward to extending our winning streak to three.

December 9, 1999 All right, our first win of the season came today against Roubidoux 50-26. The game was not that interesting and we did not play exceptionally well; we just had a better game than the opposing team. But, the game did have some scary moments when one of my team mates, Carolyn Westphal, dived for the ball and ramed her face into the leg of another player. She was knocked unconscious almost immediately but woke up a few seconds later. She ended up with a really sore bloody nose afterwards and she should be all right in a few days. On a happier note, today was the premier game for Nicole Shimizu, a new player that moved up from the junior varsity team. She came up to fill the void of injured point guards and she showed today that she can really play. In addition to her constant hustle and ablitity, she is one of the fastest players I have ever seen. Niki, as we call her, is supposed to only play with us until the other players get healthy, but when that time comes, it will be hard to let her go. So, our next game is Saturday morning and we will be ready to play and try to extend our win streak to two.

December 6, 1999 Coming off our butt whooping, we did a little bit better today than the previous game. We played El Modena in the second game of the Univeristy tournament and loss to them in a close one 32-27. The opposing team was more our size and they played using our style, but our constant turnovers and mistakes were the differences in the game. All I can say is that we need more practice, and I know we are going to get it tomorrow. One of the problems that became clearer in today's game is our lack of leadership on the court. There is no single person that is able to take charge of the team during tight situations or that can be a leader by just stepping up hitting a few shots, getting us out of jams. There are a few select players on this team that have the ability to do this, but they put all the pressure on themselves that they can hold. Losing is not easy for anyone, especially this team. But, the only thing we can do is practice harder and take each game one at a time.

December 4, 1999 In our first game of the season, we had a miserable time as Laguna Hills kicked our butts 21-55. Our offense was nonproductive and out defense did not do its job. It couldn't have gotten any uglier as we had about 30 turnovers during the entire game. We averaged about 4 points per quarter up until the fourth quarter when Laguna Hills put in their second and third string players. So, we're off to a rocky start and we still need much more practice, but it is really early in the season and we have some time to improve. We could blame it on a lot of factors such as injuries to key players or just pure pressure put on by ourselves, but the fact of the matter is that we really stank up the court (as the J.V. coach would say)and there is a lot of room for improvement. Our next game is on Monday where we will play the loser of the Santa Margurita- El Modena game. Both teams were looking pretty good as we watched a protion of their game. I think it would show a lot of character if we could some how bounce back and play a better game on Monday. But, that may be asking a little too much as we don't even have a day of practice in between these two games. So, the season has officially started and now as we stand on the bottom of the mountain, gazing up at the place where we once stood, we must try even harder to climb back up the mountain and regain lost ground.

November 30, 1999 Only days before our first game, this team is still in a withered shape. First, our starting point guard sprained her ankle in the pre-season, but she rehabilitated and was ready to play once practice stated. Then, our back-up point guard has been out for about a year. When she came back, she re-sprained her ankle a few days later. In addition to that, our versatile do-it-all player who would have been our third string point guard re-injured her ankle about a week before our first game. And now, today the back-up point guard that recently started practicing again only yesterday, sprained her ankle again. So, now we're left with our starting point guard, and a would be fourth string point guard that is really better playing as a shooting guard. Two players are out with sprained ankles, many are playing with braces on either one or both ankles, and the rest are fighting off sickness. With only three more practices before our first game, things are not looking that good. But, I know that we can pull it out. All things happen for a reason, so we just have to take things in stride and make the best of our situation.

November 14, 1999 So, the first practice is finally over, and though we are still not up to full strength, we are off to a good start. Practice, unexpectedly, was not that difficult. The hardest part is and always will be the opening warm-up drills that include full court foot work and dribbling drills and 3-man passing. This year, everyday practice is going to be at 7:00 to 9:30 at night. This isn't the best time slot, but at least we get the gym to ourselves. Our first game is going to be in the University tournament, during the second week of December. After that we have two more tournaments, one at Savannah and another at a place I am not sure of yet. Until then, we will keep practicing everyday and hopefully this will be a good year of basketball.

November 10, 1999 As practice is going to start in two days, tomorrow we are going bowling, as in the annual tradition of the team. Every year, before the basketball season starts, the entire team goes to Gablehouse to bowl a round or two, and then goes around the block to eat at Pizza Hut. I, for one, am a terrible bowler. Sometimes I can get a spare or at least a pin, but most of the time I roll gutterballs. The point of the day is not to create early rivalries, but to bring the team together as we get to know one another outside of school or practice. This team doesn't really need any get to know each other time because of the 12 players, 9 are returning while many are already best friends. But still, this is a good time for the entire team, a time to relax and enjoy life before the real fun starts on Saturday.

November 3, 1999 So in a few days practice will begin and the 1999-2000 season will start. The only problem right now is that most of our players are not healthy and in the process of healing. If this was the middle of season it would be a really bad thing, but since we are still in the pre-season we still have time to nurse injuries and be ready for the first day of practice. Practice will start on November 13 and I hope most of us will be ready to play. But until then, we will keep conditioning and strengthening ourselves, as the beginning of our journey to our goal, the CIF playoffs, almost begins.