Los Alamitos High’s girls basketball team is looking to defend its league title, but with some key changes, including the graduation of their co-league MVPs, the Griffins need to rebuild a bit. The Griffins hosted South Torrance on Thursday, falling 51-35 to the Spartans.
Without one of their top returning players, the Griffins struggled to slow the Spartans offense. Conversely, the Griffins offense struggled to get shots to fall. Los Alamitos is 1-1 in their season start, having defeated Wilson High of Long Beach, 67-32, prior to the South Torrance game.
Senior forward Bryn Pagett was held out against the Spartans, nursing a mild injury that Head Coach Maya DeAnda said might allow her to return as soon as their next game. Pagett’s presence in the middle was missed.
However, De Anda said she liked the hustle and competitiveness her team showed. The normally efficient shooting Griffins just couldn’t get shots to fall. Every time they started to crawl back into the game, the Spartans would answer.
“I mean when the shots don’t fall, nothing looks pretty but you know they’re out there diving for balls, trying to block shots, moving their feet,” DeAnda said.
Junior guard Tam Yoshida led the offense with eight points, and freshman forward Torri Yoshida added seven. Senior guard Ava Duarte and freshman guard Sydney Asumbrado each added five points.
The Griffins are going forward full steam, and looking to compete again this season. They had three games scheduled this week, Monday against JSerra Catholic and Tuesday against Portola High, both past ENE early holiday deadlines this week. They will take part in the El Toro High Tournament starting Friday at 11:30 a.m. against Beckman. And they expect to compete.
“Yeah, we’re small, but we scrap and that’s what we have to do,” DeAnda said. “We’re going to be underdogs in a lot of games but as long as we fight and execute and knock down shots, we can compete with a lot of teams.”