Kennedy Streak at 72 and Counting : A Strong El Camino Real Girls Team Poses No Threat in 49-32 Win

Things never actually look bleak for the Kennedy High girls basketball team, but there was cause for concern before Wednesday’s game at El Camino Real.

Kennedy’s starting center, Debbie Jones, was out with a sprained ankle and El Camino Real’s best player is its center, 6-4 Michelle Kirby. El Camino Real also was 8-1 and had been outscoring teams by large margins.

So, was Kennedy Coach Craig Raub worried that this might be the day his win streak in league games came to an end? After all, the streak is as long in games as the average life span of a human is in years.

“We won’t do anything different,” he said.

Raub was right.

Ho-hum, Kennedy won, 49-32, for its 72nd straight league win.

Jones was replaced by Shelley Mercer, who outscored Kirby 13-10. It’s like an assembly line at Kennedy: A Cougar gets hurt, Raub waves another one on and she is as fierce as the former.

When All-City forward Diane DeCree was tagged with two fouls in the first period, Nichole Hughes stepped in to grab six rebounds.

When All-City guard Stacy Parson didn’t light up the scoreboard as usual, sophomore Tisa Rush stepped in to score seven points. Rush was in the third grade when the streak began in 1979.

Don’t wager that Kennedy won’t win its last eight league games this season, either. Van Nuys and El Camino Real (1-1, 8-2) are Kennedy’s toughest competition in the Valley 4-A League, and the Cougars have opened league play by beating both on their home courts.

If there was a ladder to climb, that was it. Kennedy (2-0, 10-2) could probably sit and slide its way through the rest of the league schedule. Wheeee!

Raub won’t let his team coast, though. The way he snaps at his players and the referees, a letdown isn’t likely. After hearing enough by the fourth quarter, an official hit Raub with a technical foul.

El Camino Real and Van Nuys each have another shot at Kennedy, but the games will be on the Cougars’ court. Kennedy has yet to play a home game this season.

“We would like to end their streak more than anything,” El Camino Real Coach Neils Ludlow said. “We’ve got an excellent team.”

Besides Kirby, who had 12 rebounds but made only four of 14 field-goal attempts, forwards Voviette Morgan and Allison Kincaid are premier players.

But when Kennedy is able to bring players of the caliber of Mercer, Hughes and Rush off the bench, well, just look at the score.