Corsairs Home Invaded by Cougars
Having lost two in a row and their playoff aspirations having already been dashed into the wind, the Santa Monica Corsairs Women's basketball team came into the final couple games with a two-game homestead starting with the Canyons Cougars on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018 at the Pavilion in Santa Monica, Calif. This game, once again, was not fruitful for the Corsairs.
For the majority of the first half, the Cougars dominated the Corsairs in terms of scoring, rebounding, and forcing turnovers. The Corsairs trailed by eight points near the end of the first quarter, but it was the closest they could get. Throughout the rest of the second quarter, the Corsairs were outscored 27-14, and could not muster any offense to get them back into the game. The home crowd was a non-factor, as a hostile takeover took place and the opposing team gathered louder applauds than the home team.
In the second half, with the Corsairs trailing 55-31, the result was the same as the first half, with the Corsair's inability to gain a rhythm leading to the Cougars extending their lead. The Corsairs were outscored 30-25 in the third quarter, and managed to put up fourteen points in the final quarter. The game ended on a lopsided 108-70 defeat at the paws of the Cougars.
The Corsairs were out-rebounded 59-44, turned the ball over 27 times, and allowed many second chance opportunities. Asked about the lack of competitiveness in this game for her team, Head Coach Lydia Strong said, "This is nothing new, we've seen this all season. We don't compete, and if you don't compete, this happens. So we're trying to get everybody to understand you got to compete for 40-minutes and if you don't, this is what happens."
One of the few bright spots of this loss was sophomore point guard Jessica Melamed, who finished the game with 27 points, five assists, and two steals. When asked to reflect on her performance, Melamed said, "I just try to do what I can, to hype my team up and get a win, but it wasn't enough." Rejinae Crandell finished second on the team with 15 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Jazzmin Oddie in her second game back finished with eight rebounds. Luna Rivera and Mija Williams finished with seven rebounds respectively.
The Corsairs will play their final game of the season at home against the L.A. Pierce Brahmas on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018 at the Pavilion in Santa Monica, Calif. When asked about the expectations in the final game of the season, Coach Strong said, "We hope they compete. I have no other expectations other than competing. Whatever happens after that happens, but let's hope they compete."
Melamed also shared what she hopes for, "A win and playing the best I can because this will probably be the last game of my career."