Our weekly stories in this newspaper usually focus on the Culver City High boys basketball team.
There are other sports going on but staff limits and a tight budget make choices necessary. And the reasoning here and at other local papers is that boys basketball draws the most interest.
But Friday night I went to the Del Goodyear Gymnasium and watched the Culver City girls play their Ocean League game against Santa Monica prior to the boys game.
The Culver girls won, 69-60, improving their record to 11-6 and were a cohesive, well-coached group. They deserve our attention and they appear headed for a high league finish and a CIF playoff berth.
Julian Anderson became the head coach, moving up to the varsity from the junior varsity when coaching legend Jack Nakanishi retired. The program remains in good hands.
I knew Lunden Junious was the star of this team but what I saw against a competitive Santa Monica squad was a smart game plan utilizing the talent of others too.
Junior guard Taylor Tanika made four long, high-arching three-point shots in the first half.
She’s 5-foot-5 and was being defended by Cheyenne De Los Reyes, a 6-foot-1 sophomore playing her first year of basketball after starring in soccer.
Santa Monica had a tall center, so coach Marty Verdugo believed he had the luxury of utilizing De Los Reyes in a different way.
“We thought her size and long reach would cause problems for Culver’s smaller guards,” said Verdugo. “But Taylor found openings and kept making shots before we could get to her. She’s smaller, but what a shooting performance she put on.”
Later in the game Junious made her presence felt too.
Another strong contributor was Mithzy Hernandez, who was named Culver’s Player of the Week earlier this season.
“She’s a very solid player,” said Anderson. ‘She knows her role and embraces it.”
Verdugo was impressed with Culver’s team and looks forward to meeting the Centaurs again in another league game Feb. 1 at Santa Monica.
“They’re a very good team,” Verdugo said.
This Saturday the teams will take a break from their Ocean League schedules to participate in the annual Extravaganza at Santa Monica High. There’ll be games from 9:30 am until 10 pm. Culver will play in the afternoon
Reader Comments(0)