Sophomore center Lorna Tu'ufuli leaps up for a jump shot as Washington's number 13 cowers beneath her in the Battle of the Birds at Kezar Pavilion on Jan. 21 . View more photos from this gallery >
Like matured cardinals leaving the nest, the varsity girls’ basketball team members have emerged from the safety net of the JV team to survive in the competitive varsity league, guided by the wisdom of the five returning players.
At the annual Battle of the Birds on Jan. 21, the Cardinals suffered a 37-40 loss — their first this season — at the claws of the Washington Eagles. The Cardinals matched the Eagles shot for-shot for the majority of the game, until the Cardinals committed a late turnover with 49 seconds to play in the fourth quarter and set up Eagles junior Raelyn Cheung-Sutton for two free-throws. Cheung-Sutton converted both attempts and put the Eagles up 39-37. The Cardinals failed to rally, committing a foul to concede another free-throw and give the Eagles the win.
Critical turnovers decided the game. In the third quarter, after a sublime display of passing from the Cardinals brought the Lowell crowd to its feet and senior co-captain and guard Erin Ng finished with a threepointer, the referees called a travel on Ng to overrule the basket. “I was a little disappointed,” Ng said. “I caught the ball on the move, and I jump-stopped, but I guess the referees counted that as an extra step.”
A last-second shot by sophomore guard Angie Ng failed to make the third quarter buzzer and proved critical as it denied Lowell the chance to go up two before the fourth. However, the defeat is only a slight bump in their road to the championship, as the Cardinals’ 5-1 record puts them atop the Neff Division, as of Jan. 24.
The Cardinals rolled over the Wallenberg Bulldogs 61-45 on Jan. 18. Lowell’s margin of victory was the narrowest so far in the schools’ league games, but still the Bulldogs failed to match the Cardinals. “Wallenberg doesn’t have the players to challenge this team,” head coach Aki Kuwada said. “We were able to get everyone in the game. In close games sometimes we can’t.”
Although the Bulldogs scored first with two impressive consecutive three-pointers, the Lowellites regained their focus in the second quarter and went up 37-14 at halftime, leading comfortably for the rest of the game.
On Jan. 10, the Cardinals devastated the Burton Pumas 60-20 in a heavily one-sided contest. The Pumas did not pose a real threat to the Cardinals, so all of the players were able to obtain playing time to practice working together. “As a team, it was one of our best games,” junior guard Rachel Nghe said. “All the posts were making beautiful shots and passes, and the guards were working really well with them.”
The Cardinals tamed the Galileo Lions by defeating them 52-36 on Jan. 7. Although Lowell scored first, the team’s offense and defense became shaky and the Lions took an 11-4 lead. In the second quarter, however, the girls regained their composure and went into halftime with a tight lead of 18-17. In the second half both teams went to town scoring, but the Lowellites managed to outdo their opponents. “The game was really messy,” senior co-captain and guard Tiffany Pak said. “We didn’t get the ball to the post and we weren’t playing like we usually do.”
With only five out of last year’s 17 members returning as varsity players this year, the Cardinals’ toughest opponent is their inexperience. “Inexperience, being young — that’s our only obstacle,” Kuwada said. “We’re probably going to have some very close match-ups this season, where last season with veteran players we didn’t have.”
Motivated to capture a second consecutive championship title — the fifth under Kuwada’s mentorship at Lowell — the team is ready to overcome its uneven start. “Being Lowell, we expect to be in the championship every year,” Kuwada said.
In fact, the Cardinals embrace the challenge to perform at the highest level against teams with more veterans. “We feel like we have something to prove, especially because we have a title to defend,” sophomore guard Angie Ng said.
To win the trophy, the Cardinals will need to work as a cohesive unit on the court, something the girls have been consistently developing since the preseason. Even though each player has a specific role, they must meld together like clockwork, with all the gears in sync, in order to play successfully as a team. “The chemistry between the post players is great, but the guards need to know to look for the posts to pass to them,” Nghe said. “We’ve been running and re-running drills and plays, and we’re improving.”
Leading the Cardinals into battle are senior co-captains and guards Pak and Erin Ng, who made highimpact performances as secondstring alternates last season. In the Feb. 3, 2010 match-up against then-defending champions, the Lincoln Mustangs, the two double-teamed Lincoln’s star Hallie Meneses, helping the Cardinals win the critical game 54-48. This season, Ng and Pak are imparting their wisdom to their teammates, in games and in practice, hoping to lead their team to the league final. “They’re always giving support to everyone and making sure that we focus,” junior forward Jillian Doherty said.
Come cheer on the Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. today in the Neff Gymnasium against the June Jordon Jaguars.
A version of this article first appeared in the Jan. 28, 2011 print edition of The Lowell.
|
