Team breaks even in Mt. Baldy
GIRLS BASKETBALL Injuries keep Lady Brahmas out of CIF for another season.
Junior Karen Shao averaged 10.8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.4 steals per game as a starter during the regular season.
In its first season in the Mt. Baldy League, the Diamond Bar High School girls basketball team placed fourth with a .500 record of 5-5. The girls failed to qualify for the CIF playoffs for the second consecutive year.
A couple of reasons for the mediocre season from the Lady Brahmas were injuries and absences.
Earlier in the season, junior point guard Juliana Callasan dislocated her finger and senior captain Kayla Hunt sprained her ankle. Junior Amanda Vazquez was also unable to play for the entire season due to injury.
“The girls played hard all year and unfortunately we had some girls get injured and some girls that missed games that ultimately hurt our chances of finishing over .500 and making the playoffs, but I was very proud of how they played all year long,” head coach Marcus Hughes said.
In their last game of the season, the Lady Brahmas won by a single point against Montclair 27-26. Before that, the team won against Chaffey 57-16 but lost to Don Lugo 53-38.
In their one-point win, senior Amy Miyahara led the team in scoring with six points, while Hunt contributed five points.
Despite not meeting the high expectations set during the beginning of the season, the girls turned around their losing record from last season. Hughes was impressed with their work ethic and performance over the course of the season.
“I am most proud of their ability to play hard for four quarters no matter what the score is, and never give up. The girls always gave a hundred percent effort every game and every quarter,” Hughes said.
According to MaxPreps, in Mt. Baldy, the Lady Brahmas’ defense ranked second; the only team ahead of them was league champions Don Lugo.
Senior Angela Hung and junior Karen Shao led the team in scoring this season, with Hung averaging 10.6 points in the last three games and Shao averaging 12 points.
Senior Sarah Milik was also an important defensive player for the Lady Brahmas, averaging nine rebounds per game in the last half of the season.
According to Hughes, losing this year’s seniors will be impactful, since the soon-to-be graduates currently make up half of the team. The team’s posts, which include senior center Simran Sandu and Milik will need to be replaced along with this year’s scoring leaders. However, he said he expects the same level of play from the team next season.
“We still have some very good players coming back: Karen Shao, Juliana Callasan and we also get Amanda Vazquez back from injury next year,” Hughes said. “We have some good players coming up from the JV [team] as well. We will be preparing for next season later this spring, throughout the summer and into the fall.”
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