BASKETBALL BEAT : ERASING THE PAST.Byline: Chris Branam The fact wasn't lost on Ava Mozafari as she looked around at her Taft High teammates shooting around on Monday. ``This time last year, we weren't even in this gym practicing,'' said Mozafari, the Toreadors' starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the guard. Thanks to a late-season surge, girls' basketball is back at Taft under first-year coach Elliot Turret. The Toreadors upset fourth-seeded Washington 47-46 on Denisha McCoy's last-second 3-pointer last Friday and will play at Westchester tonight at 5:30 in the City Section 4-A quarterfinals. Taft (15-6) rebounded from a miserable 1996-97, which saw most of the Toreadors' top players transfer to Kennedy followed by a 2-8 conference season. Senior center Tynisha Howze, who averages a team-leading 14.8 points and 11.2 rebounds, said this season's success has taken away some of her bitter memories. ``I tried (to forget),'' she said, closing her eyes and putting her right hand on her forehead. ``I'm still trying.'' The turnaround has been credited to Turret, who was highly successful with the Crossroads boys in the 1980s (the Roadrunners won three Southern Section titles). He also has coached at Manual Arts and Birmingham, but when Turret went to school to gain his master's degree master's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree. Noun 1. so he could coach in college, an interesting thing happened. Turret got his master's in counseling from Cal Lutheran and quit coaching. He went into counseling and was working at Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. High last year. ``It was a really mellow mel·low adj. mel·low·er, mel·low·est 1. a. Soft, sweet, juicy, and full-flavored because of ripeness: a mellow fruit. b. job,'' said Turret, who commutes from Ventura. ``(But) I wasn't feeling energized or fulfilled.'' Turret came out of his self-imposed exile to coach at Taft. He affected the returning players almost immediately. ``Things were in disarray dis·ar·ray n. 1. A state of disorder; confusion. 2. Disorderly dress. tr.v. dis·ar·rayed, dis·ar·ray·ing, dis·ar·rays 1. To throw into confusion; upset. 2. To undress. ,'' he said. ``They weren't really used to things like conditioning. They were eager to have structure.'' If the Toreadors can pull off another shocker shock·er n. One that startles, shocks, or horrifies, as a sensational story or novel. Noun 1. shocker - a shockingly bad person bad person - a person who does harm to others 2. tonight, they will be one win away from playing in the City 4-A championship game on March 6. ``We're playing better because we want to get to the (Sports Arena),'' Howze said. Upsetting losses Hart and Moorpark, two of the area's distinguished programs, both made early exits in the Southern Section playoffs last Saturday. The Indians, who were at the time ranked No. 2 by the Daily News and winners of 18 in a row, were beaten 60-53 at home by Riverside Poly in Division I-A's first round. The Musketeers, who were also in the Daily News' top 10 (No. 6) and were riding an 18-game win streak, were taken out in Division II-A's second round by Dos Pueblos (of Goleta) 49-44. Moorpark, which advanced to the division's championship game last year, was the No. 2 seed. The Musketeers beat Dos Pueblos 52-48 on Dec. 13 at the Rio Mesa tournament. Ironically, Hart also began its streak on the same day. The Indians beat Alemany 64-60 at the Buena tournament. Both teams went 10-0 in league play, with Moorpark winning the Frontier and Hart taking the Foothill. Hart's loss was the last high school game for Melissa Harrison, one of the area's top performers the past two years. Harrison was the league MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. as a junior and undoubtedly will claim that title again. ``It's a tough way to go out,'' Indians coach Dave Munroe said, ``because you go 21-2 up to this point, which is a very successful season, but end on a note like this. People remember your last game.'' Add upsets Paraclete and Louisville, two of the top four seeds in Division IV-AA, were eliminated in the second round on the road. The third-seeded Spirits were knocked off at Morro Bay 62-51, despite 21 points from senior guard Kate Robinson Kate Robinson may refer to:
In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. its second consecutive trip to the division's semifinals. Louisville, which was the No. 4 seed, was nipped by St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery 55-52. The Royals, who were second-ranked in the division's coaches poll, finished 16-7 after a 9-0 start. Almost a miracle It was hard to recognize the names of the Kennedy players in the Cougars' box scores this season. That's because not a single player was on the varsity team In the United States and Canada and UK, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, or high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of the year before. The Cougars didn't win much, going 4-12 overall and 2-8 in conference, but first-year coach Kurt Keller did a pretty good job with such an inexperienced in·ex·pe·ri·ence n. 1. Lack of experience. 2. Lack of the knowledge gained from experience. in group. ``I'm quite happy,'' Keller said last week. ``We saw a tremendous amount of improvement in individual players throughout the season. We had a group of girls who wanted to work really hard.'' Etc. Records and stuff: Even though Grant's season ended abruptly a·brupt adj. 1. Unexpectedly sudden: an abrupt change in the weather. 2. Surprisingly curt; brusque: an abrupt answer made in anger. 3. with a first-round loss in the City 4-A playoffs, the Lancers lanc·er n. 1. A cavalryman armed with a lance. 2. A member of a regiment originally armed with lances. 3. lancers (used with a sing. verb) a. A kind of quadrille. b. had several players move to the top of the school's record book. Sophomore guard Leslie Mui set the school record for 3-pointers in a career (91) and the season mark for assists (96). Senior center Nakeisha Perkins, the school-record holder in rebounds, grabbed the 1,000th of her career. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) TURRET (2) Center Tynisha Howze is averaging 14.8 points and 11.2 rebounds for a Taft team that plays in the City 4-A quarterfinals tonight. Myung J. Chun / Daily News |
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