Corsair Basketball Grips Another Preseason Win
On Friday, Nov. 15, the Santa Monica Corsairs, women’s basketball team (2-2), played the Los Angeles Trade-Tech Beavers at the Corsair Gymnasium, earning their second preseason win. Notably injured, Corsairs’ guard Maya Stokes was on the sidelines, out of the game.
“We lost one of my better players, a knee injury,” Corsairs’ Head Coach Lydia Strong said. “It’s tough. We’re not sure yet, but hopefully we can get her back. Everybody has to step up now and… get different roles.”
The game started with a three-point jump shot attempt by the Beavers’ Serenity Johnson. The Corsairs’ forward Tilde Maansson would be the first to score, with a successful three.
However, the game was briefly paused due to a shot clock malfunction. After an out-of-bounds play, Johnson shot a two-pointer, as did Corsairs’ forward Mandy Kohanim. Maansson’s pass to Corsairs’ guard Heidi Luna went out of bounds, but the duo would go on to have great passes throughout the game.
“Me and my team played with each other, moved the ball with each other,” said Luna. “Looked for open shots, and just playing aggressive, getting to the hole… to get a basket.”
Beavers’ Tylan Adams fouled Luna, giving her two free throws, one of which she made. Luna had another shot attempt, with Corsairs’ forward Nicole Mansouri rebounding, assisting, and passing it back to Luna to make the layup. The first quarter ended with two free throws given to Johnson, who made one of them (21-8).
The second quarter started with a missed layup from Johnson. However, Adams, with a burst of energy, gave her team back-to-back three-pointers.
A layup by Beavers’ Juana Vargas helped bring the score closer, (26-20) but the Corsairs did not back down. Luna blocked a shot attempt by Johnson, going out of bounds. The second quarter ended with a layup made by Corsairs’ forward Serenity Richardson (32-25).
The third quarter started in the Beavers possession with the referee giving the ball to Adams in the half court who chest passed it to Johnson. Johnson missed a three pointer. Corsairs gains possession when Luna gets the rebound.
Corsairs forward player Luna passed the ball to Jackie Haung who airballed with Kohanim catching it. Then, Kohanim shoots but misses. It goes back to Beavers possession.
Later on, Corsairs lost possession of the ball again after a second rebound save from center player Kohanim. The Beavers were able to gain possession of the ball, but it was short-lived.
After Kohanim got called for a travel, the Beavers were able to take control again. However, they lost possession of the ball when point guard Cailin Ashby missed a pass to small forward Julieta Duenas. Huang took the ball, leaving the Corsairs in control of possession of the ball.
After Huang successfully passed to Luna, the Corsairs attempted to score another layup, as a foul was called on Beavers' Valeria Duran. Heidi earned two free throws, and Luna made her first shot while missing her second, leaving the score 33-25.
After some back-and-forth, the Corsairs and the Beavers lost control of the court with neither team scoring. Kohanim was able to get a rebound from the Beavers and successfully skip passed to Luna.
Maansson was able to shoot another three-pointer and score for the Corsairs. As a result, the Beavers called for a timeout, as the third quarter ended 50-37, leaving the Corsairs in the lead.
The fourth quarter opened with the Corsairs having possession of the ball. An assist from Maansson to Luna gave the Corsairs another two points. The Beavers strayed off course with an airball while the Corsairs defended the court.
Despite not having their star player, the Corsairs won the game with the final score of 65-56. “I saw that we communicated a lot and we made sure to shut down their best player,” said Stokes. “I feel that we played together.”
The Corsairs will have their next match against Cerritos College on Nov. 20 at the Corsair Gym at 6 p.m.