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By Ashley Wu
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Dec. 19, 2008 |
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“The way you practice is the way you play,” junior center Lauren Quirarte said about the team’s strategy. “If we keep our head in the game and pay attention at practice, I expect us to do really well in the games since we will know the plays even better.”
As with every new season for the girls’ JV basketball team, the team wants to make the championships. But they are also hoping to have a good time and win with everyone’s contributions. “I’m really looking forward to bonding with the new freshmen because they are improving and adapting really well,” sophomore forward and guard Katrina Liwanag said.
Before the season starts, however, the girls will have to work hard if they want to win against Washington High School this year. The Cardinals lost to the Eagles two times last year, so they will be the Cardinals’ biggest competition this year.
To reach the championships, the girls have set goals for themselves and the team. “We don’t have much height so we need to work really hard to be fast and hopefully our speed can make up for our height in some respects,” sophomore forward Salpi Siyahian said. Without the height advantage of other teams, the girls have to commit to refining the skills needed to win. “My goal is to be 100 percent at shooting and to have really good defense,” sophomore guard Tiffani Pak said.
Teamwork is also very important. “We need to keep the ball moving across the court,” sophomore guard Susan Yao said.
After improving the basics of basketball, the girls still have to focus on the mentality of the game. “We need to get over our fear of the other teams,” Liwanag said. “We are underestimating ourselves and that makes it the biggest obstacle.”
Many of the girls met their coaches for the first time during their freshman year. “When I was a freshman, I was intimidated by the coaches,” Liwanag said. “At the school I came from, we had sympathetic coaches who didn’t point out our mistakes. Our coaches now at Lowell are different from the coaches in middle school. They aren’t harsh but they are fair and they help motivate the team. Our coaches are like the parents in the family.”
With the need to win as many games as they can, the girls are put under pressure and in need of encouragement. “Our coaches are there for support and they are like the backbone of the team,” Yao said.
With the encouragement from the coaches and the intense practices the girls go through six days a week, the Cardinals started their pre-season with an undefeated first eight games until their first loss against Menlo Atherton in the tournament at Mountain View High School on Dec. 11. “Every single team that we’ve played so far has been taller than us,” freshman guard Christie Yeh said. “But we win because we have speed.”
Come support the girls, time TBA, in their tournament today at Lincoln High against the Mustangs.
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