SPARTANS READY TO REFOCUS AFTER STARTING OFF 18-0, LA CANADA GETS `REALITY CHECK' AFTER TAKING FIRST LOSS.Byline: SEAN n. 1. A seine. See Seine. CEGLINSKY Special to the Daily News The La Canada High boys' basketball team opened plenty of eyes by winning their first 18 games -- including titles in its firstthreetournaments -- by an average of 18 points. With seven games left in the regular season, thoughts about an unblemished record began to surface. Perhaps that's why LaCanada overlooked Monrovia on Wednesday and lost for the first time this year, 57-50, to fall into a first-place tie with the Wildcats in the Rio Hondo Rio Hondo may refer to:
The Spartans have little -- if any -- time to dwell on to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of; as, to dwell upon a subject; a singer dwells on a note s>. - Shak. See also: Dwell the setback, not with one of the most important stretches of the season on the horizon. ``At some point you're going to stumble, so at least we got it out of the way,'' said La Canada coach Tom Hofman, whose team plays three games over a 24-hour span this weekend. The Spartans (18-1, 4-1) look to bounce back from the loss, which snapped their 57-game league winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" , against host Blair of Pasadena at 7 p.m. today. A pair of games loom on Saturday the first of which is at 2 p.m. against Bishop's School of La Jolla La Jolla (lə hoi`yə), on the Pacific Ocean, S Calif., an uninc. district within the confines of San Diego; founded 1869. The beautiful ocean beaches, in particular La Jolla shores and Black's Beach, and sea-washed caves attract visitors and in the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Coaches Classic at Carlsbad High followed by a 9 p.m. game against Perris at the Southern California Shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. at Azusa Pacific University External links
``We're going to see what we're made of,'' Hofman said. ``Losing before this stretch of the season isn't the worst thing that could have happened to us. ``We're going to be better because of it. Now, there's no pressure. Now, I'll be able to get these guys focused again. We're going to bring back some of the intensity that's been missing lately.'' La Canada is no stranger to streaks. Two years ago, the Spartans opened the season with a program-record 20 victories in a row, and the 1991-92 team owns the school's all-time mark for consecutive wins with 22. The Spartans will go as far as Adam Malik Adam Malik (22 July, 1917 - 5 September, 1984) was Indonesia's third vice president. Early life Malik was born in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies to Abdul Malik and Salamah Lubis. will take them this time around. The 6-foot-7 senior is averaging 23.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. He's scored 25 or more in six games and 30 or more three times, including 37 against San Marino San Marino, city, United States San Marino (săn mərē`nō), residential city (1990 pop. 12,959), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1913. Of interest is the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. . ``Sure, we were upset that we lost because we didn't want to be known as the team that broke any of the streaks,'' said Malik, who's being recruited by UC Irvine, UC 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. and Pacific. ``We thought we could just show up and win. It was a reality check. ``We're not going to let that happen again. We know we have to go 100 percent all the time now.'' Darren Ho and Christian Nito are also vital parts for the Spartans. Ho is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points and Nito is the team's floor leader, averaging 3.7 assists. ``I think all the guys are going to be able to relax now that there's no streak to worry about,'' Hofman said. Whether that happens remains to be seen. One thing is certain: it will be interesting to see how La Canada responds to its first taste of adversity. ``We're learned a lot about ourselves after the loss and are a stronger team now,'' Nito said. ``We think we can go out there and prove that we can return to our winning form.'' Q & A ... WITH ANDREANNA MARSHALL A senior guard on the L.A. Baptist of North Hills girls' basketball team, Marshall leads the area in scoring, averaging 26.6 points per game. The 5-foot-6 standout has scored at least 40 points in a game twice this season, while she has been limited to fewer than 20 points three times in 20 games for the Knights (14-6 overall, 5-0 Delphic League). DN: In addition to being the top scorer in the area, your average is No. 4 in the state as well as No. 15 in the nation, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. maxpreps.com. What's it like to be considered among such elite company? AM: It's exciting because I never really expected it. Somebody told me where I ranked earlier this season, and I didn't even believe them. I looked myself and saw it, and I still didn't believe it. I've always known I had the ability to score a lot of points, but this season has been really special. DN: Such a high scoring average means you have to take a lot of shots. Does coach Mary Christiansen and your teammates give you the green light to shoot as often as you like? AM: I pretty much have the green light, but I make sure not to misuse it. There are times I've taken some pretty dumb shots this season, and coach Christiansen has let me know about it. I just try to lead the team the best way I know how, and that's by putting the ball in the basket. DN: You averaged 18.5 points per game last season, and 14 points per game as a sophomore. How do you explain the improvement you have made after each season? AM: I became a gym rat Noun 1. gym rat - someone who spends all leisure time playing sports or working out in a gymnasium or health spa addict, freak, junkie, junky, nut - someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction; "a golf addict"; "a car nut"; "a after my sophomore season. I knew I was expected to be a team leader, so I used every free moment I got to work on my game. After my junior season, I really worked on my crossover and my stutter-step. I'm fortunate that's it's all come together this season. DN: Because you're a bit undersized undersized see dwarfism, runt. at 5-foot-6, there are likely those who will say you can't make the transition to the Division I college game. What would you say to those people? AM: I would say they're wrong, because there are plenty of examples of smaller girls who play at that level. People also underestimate me because L.A. Baptist is a smaller school. Because of that, I play with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I definitely think I can make it at the next level. -- Kevin Connelly Kevin Connelly was born in Middlesbrough, England. He is an impressionist comedian, and after dinner speaker and is probably most famous for his role on the popular BBC television programme 'Dead Ringers'. IN THE PAINT The Flintridge Prep of La Canada Flintridge girls' basketball team hasn't been the most dominant team in the area over the past few seasons. One of the top small schools from the area in recent years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time Rebels were ousted in the second round of the Southern Section Div. IV-A playoffs last season while other locals advanced further in higher divisions. But no team has experienced a longer run of success in league play than the Rebels, who put an area-best 26-game Prep League winning streak on the line today against visiting Vivian Webb of Claremont. Flintridge Prep (16-3, 7-0) last lost a league game Jan. 20, 2005 -- a 58-51 loss to Westridge of Pasadena. Not far off that mark is Newbury Park, which has a 25-game Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. winning streak since Feb. 4, 2005. The Panthers (15-5, 8-0) host Agoura at 7 p.m. today. Palmdale (11-10 overall, 7-0 Golden League) has won 22 consecutive league games dating to 2005. -- Kevin Connelly CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 4 boxes Photo: (1) La Canada High's Darren Ho is second on the Spartans in scoring, averaging 13.3 points. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (2) ANDREANNA MARSHALL Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News Box: (1) Q & A ...WITH ANDREANNA MARSHALL (see text) (2) IN THE PAINT (see text) - Kevin Connelly (3) BOYS' TOP 25 (4) GIRLS' TOP 25 |
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