Power Is Transferring to Westchester
Bo Corona has been coaching at Westchester for 13 years, and this season he has received a real lesson in chemistry.
Three transfer students--Brittany Grant from Playa del Rey St. Bernard, Ashley Harrison from L.A. Hamilton and Roneisha Williams, who sat out last season at Harbor City Narbonne--have played this season for Westchester. The influx of new personalities hammered the Comets’ group dynamic.
“It has been my most difficult year as a coach,” Corona said. “But being a challenge, I think we worked much harder as a staff.”
Corona said personnel issues that concerned him at the beginning of the season and got in the way of his team reaching its potential are nearly resolved. He credited the players and an unlikely source for getting everyone on the same page.
A post on an Internet bulletin board that called the Comets “uninspired finger-pointers” got the attention of the players. Williams, Shayna Stanley and Dominique Everage called a team meeting after a 59-49 victory over Venice on Jan. 9 to discuss the critique.
“They digested it, broke it down, asked if it was true or were they better than what was written about them,” Corona said. “They asked, ‘Where’s our pride?’ These kids want respect.”
And since then, Westchester has been more cohesive.
“We’re not finished by any stretch of the imagination, but our chemistry is 100% better,” Corona said. “We’re about 85% of where we should be. They’re starting to accept their roles, believe in each other, respect each other, and play hard together.
“Win or lose, we’re going to be a team.”
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Brrrrr: Inclement weather caused Apple Valley’s game at Rim of the World last week to be postponed from Tuesday to Thursday.
Snow closed the Rim of the World campus in Lake Arrowhead and school administrators wouldn’t allow any activities on campus, including practice.
“That kind of makes it hard to prepare for the most important game of the year,” Rim of the World Coach Karen Rudolph said.
Apple Valley won, 53-43.
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Twister: West Hills Chaminade’s Christina Zdenek, whose driving, left-handed layup in traffic is usually accompanied by some strange twisting of her body, may have an inherent advantage over other players. She has gymnastics in her genes.
“Her dad, Gene, was a gymnast at [Woodland Hills] Taft High, and she is definitely very flexible,” said Zdenek’s coach, Kelly DiMuro. “She can twist her body around, get in between players. Most of her shots look like she’s got a bad angle because of the way she contorts her body.”
Zdenek, a junior with three seasons of varsity experience, has already set the school’s career scoring record with 1,187 points. A 5-foot-8 point guard, she is averaging 21.8 points this season. Chaminade is 16-7, 7-1 and in a first-place tie in the Mission League.
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Pioneer melodrama: Lauren Ervin, the 6-3 junior center for Artesia, will apparently decide this week whether to finish the season with the fifth-ranked Pioneers.
Ervin did not play in Artesia’s three victories last week because her mother wanted her to prepare for final exams, according to Coach Scott Roczey. He said a decision will probably be made by Wednesday.
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Staying put: Guard Megan Aaker, who led Laguna Hills to a Southern Section Division II-AA title as a sophomore, and forward Kristin Thawley, who led Irvine to a Division I-AA championship game appearance last season, have suffered through senior years in which the playoffs weren’t a given.
The only way both can qualify for the playoffs this season is if Laguna Hills beats Aliso Niguel tonight, Irvine beats Laguna Hills on Thursday, and Woodbridge beats Aliso Niguel.
Both will attend UC Irvine next season. Jim Martin, Laguna Hills coach, said both benefited by not transferring to other schools.
“[Aaker] has come along so far as a rebounder, and Thawley has gone from a post-up player to one that can play on the perimeter,” he said.
Aaker is averaging 19.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, three assists, 1.5 blocks and two steals. Thawley is averaging 23.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists.