During Thanksgiving break, the Diamond Bar girls basketball team competed in the annual Wilson Basketball Tournament. DB finished the tournament with an overall record of 2-2 by defeating El Monte and Maranatha, but was unable to place, losing two close games.
“We have a philosophy where every game is a championship game.” coach Tony McCabe said.
On the first day of the Wilson tournament, the Lady Brahmas started off well and led the whole game, but a fatal mistake resulted in a loss to the South Hills Huskies 43-42. With DB and SH tied with one second remaining, the Lady Brahmas gave up a foul, allowing a South Hills Husky player to shoot two free-throws. In the disappointing loss, senior guard Norah Wu stood out by leading the Lady Brahmas with 18 points.
The next day, the Lady Brahmas came out strong and defeated the Maranatha Minutemen 48-40. Senior guard Natalie Wong, who had 13 points, made three three-pointers and junior forward Molly McCabe made two three-pointers, helping the Brahmas improve their record to 1-1.
Although DB was down until the third quarter, the Lady Brahmas did not give up. Playing with all their energy, the Lady Brahmas made an enormous comeback and defeated the El Monte Lions 39-34. Freshman Lauren Del Campos made 11 out of 14 clutch free throws in the second half.
In the last game against the Ayala Bulldogs, the Lady Brahmas fought hard, but could not quite finish as they lost 40-32. With 50 seconds left in the game, DB was down by three, but the Bulldogs hit a three-pointer. After missing their shot during the Brahmas’ possession, DB fouled an Ayala player and she made two clutch free-throws. Wu led the Lady Brahmas again with 16 points. Throughout the tournament, sophomore Destinee Garr led the team in rebounds
“[The game] was actually closer than the score,” McCabe said.
Without Yewande Alabi, last year’s co-captain center who dominated the paint and set many school reboutnding records, the Lady Brahmas will have to depend on a team effort to match up against the top teams in the Hacienda League.
“We’re hoping to challenge for the league title,” McCabe said. The Lady Brahmas had an overall record of 15-13 with a 7-5 Hacienda League record last year. The 2013 team was stopped by the San Clemente Tritons losing 66-29 in the first round of the Southern CIF Division playoffs.
This week, the Lady Brahmas will participate in the annual Claremont Girls Tournament. Placing third last year, DB hopes to achieve more in this tournament and continue their momentum into the tournament and Hacienda League play.