By Cameron Richter
Bobby Wymbs
Staff Writers
Coming into the California Interscholastic Federation championship game on March 7, the Costa girls basketball felt confident with their ability to win in a clutch situation. Although, having never played Culver City this season, they were not quite sure what to expect.
One player dominated throughout the entire game. Unfortunately, that player, Michelle Curry, does not play for Costa. She contributed a double-double to Culver City, scoring 22 of Culver City’s 55 points and adding 11 rebounds.
Costa would eventually go on to lose the game 55-49, making their final record 22-11 overall, 6-4 in Bay league, and 4-1 in CIF. Although Costa could not win the championship, they will still be competing in state competition starting Wednesday. Senior guard Camille Mills and junior guard Keilani Ikehara each had 10 points to lead the Mustangs in scoring. Mills also displayed great defensive skills, getting 5 steals.
“We were cautiously optimistic coming into the game,” coach John Lapham said. “Although clearly knowing we had a big challenge in front of us.”
The game started off competitively with both teams playing well offensively. Costa had a lay-up from senior forward Allison Bartak, a three-pointer from Ikehara, and a buzzer beater from freshman guard Halle Maeda. The score at the end of the first quarter was 12-9, Culver City.
In the second quarter, Culver City dominated both sides of the ball, allowing only seven points to Costa while scoring 16. The game did not look good for Costa, as the score going into the second half was 26-17, Culver City.
“Our defense made some mental mistakes,” Lapham said. “Our shot selection could have been better.”
The third quarter of play was very similar to the second. Costa could not score well and could not figure out a way to stop the Culver City offense. The score going into the final quarter of play was 42-32, Culver City.
“We knew the game wasn’t over and we had to continue to play,” Mills said.
Midway through the fourth quarter, it seemed as if Costa was going to put together an amazing comeback, as they were only down by one point after trailing by 14 at one point in third quarter. But a 5-0 run by Culver City forced Costa to foul and send Culver City into the bonus. Culver City made four of their six free throws while Costa could only score four points. The final score of the game was 55-49, Culver City.
“We did not play with the same intensity we had brought to the court in the previous games,” Bartak said. “We made a lot of errors.”
This tough loss wraps up a very successful CIF run for the Mustangs, who went 22-11 overall, 6-4 in Bay League, and 4-1 in CIF. Even though they could not win, they reached the championship in a difficult division.
“I think we would look to pound the ball inside more if we played the game again,” Lapham said. “We might also play more zone defense.”
Costa’s next game will be at Fisher Gym on Wednesday against University High School at 7:00 p.m.
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