| Cards are sizzling — improve record to 6-1 (12/09) | | Print | |
| Written by Destiny Vaughn | ||
| Wednesday, 27 January 2010 | ||
|
On Dec. 7, the Cardinals faced Piedmont High¬¬, the tenth best team in the state. The team played a productive first quarter, only down by two points at the end, but fell down in a lackluster second quarter, down to single digits by halftime. The halftime score of (Find out score) foreshadowed the second half - Piedmont stomped the Cardinals, 63-35. "Even though we lost, to be able to keep up with a team that is ranked tenth best in the state and 44th best in the country was a good achievement," senior co-captain and forward Rachel Baskin said.
The Burlingame Tournament at Burlingame High School from Dec. 2-4 proved that the team improved drastically. On Dec. 4, the team played against Clayton Valley High School in the championships, winning 37-33. Although the Clayton Valley team had a player towering at 6'3", the Cardinals dealt with her height and skill by quickly focusing their defense around her. "We played well as a team and despite their attempts to stop our best players, we fought through and won," Baskin said. Senior co-captain and point guard Kristina Lum received Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Baskin received All-Tournament Honors. On Dec. 3, the Cardinals met their match against Gunn High School who beat them two years ago with a swarming defense. However, the ladies did not let the pressure get to them and secured themselves a spot in the championships with a win. Senior post players Cicely Barker, Grace Wang and Nicole Lee, along with freshman Lorna Tu'ufuli, contributed to the win, according to senior guard Miki Masuoka. "In the semi-finals, Gunn had better offense and tougher defense," Masuoka said. "But we played really tough defense, our shots started falling and the post players really stepped it up when we needed them." On Dec. 2, the team played against Woodside, who succumbed to the Cardinals' strong defense and allowed the Cardinals to lead for all of the game. "This was a relatively easy game and we simply focused on trying to see who worked well together and figuring out team chemistry," Barker said. "The game showed consistent effort from Kristina Lum as guard who kept scoring and from Rachel Baskin as well," Barker said. On Nov. 30, the team went up against the Rams at Westmoor High School. This game marked the team's first time playing together as a team. Their teamwork proved successful, bringing home a win. "It was a close game during the first half," junior shooting and point-guard Tiffani Pak said. "But in the second half, we started pulling away towards the lead because we worked harder on stealing the ball and on defense." To kick off the preseason, the Lady Cardinals started off on Nov. 21 with a scrimmage at University High School, beating the Red Devils. The scrimmage was used to gauge what the team needed to work on and improve. "It was our first game, so of course we were not on top of our plays," Lum said. "But overall, the team looked good and played well." As the season is quickly approaching, the team is strongly improving their defense so that they can beat their major competitors in the championship, the Lincoln Mustangs and the Washington Eagles. "Overall, we've been good and have tightened up on defense," Lum said. "Our team's defense will be crucial against Washington and Lincoln." Support your Lady Cardinals as they continue their progress through the pre-season at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 21 at San Mateo against the Bearcats. Share this article:           |
||
Lorna Tu'Ufuli wrestles a Westmoor Ram defender on Nov. 30. The Cardinals butted heads with the Rams and came out on top, winning by a score of 52-42. (Cassandra Liu) | Next > |
|---|
to listen.
