NEWS AND NOTES FROM PRESS ROW
By Loren Kopff
@LorenKopff on Twitter
The Gahr High girls basketball team thought the winter break would be a time for its injured players to recuperate so that they could begin the new year fresh and reenergized. While the Lady Gladiators got all but one of its injured players back, the team couldn’t get back in the win column after 16 days off from action.
El Dorado High broke a 6-6 tie in the first quarter with a 9-0 run and Gahr was unable to recover from that in a 48-39 loss this past Tuesday night. Gahr (6-7 overall) lost for the fourth straight time and dropped below .500 for the first time this season. The team has also lost six of its last seven games.
“It looked liked we hadn’t played in two weeks,” said Gahr first-year head coach Rob Godwin. “But overall I thought we played pretty well. We still have a lot of work to do, and we’ll improve. We’ll definitely improve by the time league comes.”
The Lady Gladiators trailed 15-10 after the first quarter but El Dorado scored the first six points of the second quarter in less than two minutes. A three-pointer from senior Jheanine Carlyle midway through the stanza cut Gahr’s deficit to six points, the closest it would get to the visitors the rest of the way.
The remainder of the game, Gahr was playing a cat and mouse game with the Golden Hawks, who led by as many as 14 points early in the third quarter. A three-point play from junior Alana Soltis made the score 33-26 with 4:40 left in the third quarter before El Dorado went on a 10-3 run. Then a three-pointer from Soltis cut that big lead back to seven points with 1:39 left in the game. But that would be the final basket of the night for Gahr.
“We let them get out on us a little early,” Godwin said. “I think we got tired trying to catch up. So, all of our momentum was gone.”
Freshman Hannah Kumiyama led Gahr with 11 points and six rebounds while Soltis added eight points and four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Kumiyama continues to dazzle in her first year of high school, averaging 12.3 points a game over the last three games. She and Soltis have been the only players to have scored in every game this season.
“She’s actually growing,” Godwin said. “Every game we play she gets a lot better and her IQ and her knowledge of the game is so good. It’s almost like having another coach out on the floor. We’re looking for more and more things out of her.”
Gahr will host Santa Fe High tonight before opening up San Gabriel Valley League action at Lynwood High on Wednesday.
In other girls basketball action, Valley Christian High knocked off Mary Star of the Sea High 43-33 this past Tuesday to improve to 10-6. The Lady Crusaders will visit Whittier Christian High tonight in the Olympic League opener and travel to Ontario Christian High on Saturday before going to Long Beach Wilson High on Wednesday.
Whitney High had no problems with Calvary Chapel Downey High in its Academy League opener, a 50-17 conquest, this past Tuesday. The Lady Wildcats, who haven’t played since Dec. 19, evened their mark to 5-5 overall, 1-0 in league, and will host Oxford Academy High tonight before going to St. Margaret’s High on Tuesday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Suburban League kicked off action this past Wednesday night with Artesia High falling to Mayfair High 55-45 and Norwalk High squeaking past Bellflower High 54-51. Artesia dropped to 7-7 overall and will visit Bellflower on Monday before hosting Cerritos High on Wednesday. Norwalk (9-6, 1-0) travels to La Mirada High tonight before hosting Cerritos on Monday. The Lancers then cross Interstate 5 to face John Glenn High on Wednesday.
Valley Christian went to 8-8 overall following a 63-44 victory over Paramount High this past Tuesday. The Crusaders will go to Whittier Christian tonight and Ontario Christian on Saturday before hosting Fairmont Prep High on Tuesday.
BOYS SOCCER
A triple header in the Suburban League was played at the Fedde Sports Complex in Hawaiian Gardens due to the heavy rains this past Wednesday with Artesia defeating Mayfair 3-1, John Glenn upsetting Cerritos 1-0 and Norwalk doubling up on Bellflower 4-2. Also, Valley Christian’s game with La Quinta High this past Tuesday ended up in a 2-2 tie. The Crusaders took a 3-5-2 record into their home game with Whittier Christian tonight. V.C. will also host St. Anthony High on Monday before travelling to Heritage Christian High on Thursday.
GIRLS SOCCER
Artesia got a late goal to edge Mayfair 1-0 and Cerritos breezed past John Glenn 4-0 in Suburban League action this past Wednesday in games played at Goodman Stadium on the La Mirada High campus. Valley Christian also posted a 1-0 win against Downey High to improve to 5-6-2. The Lady Crusaders will visit Whittier Christian today and host Heritage Christian on Tuesday.
