Lady Moors Finish Season Undefeated after League Finals

JAMES HO

Co-Copy Editor

While most high school kids were contemplating the most romantic time of the year: Valentine’s Day. The Lady Moors had another priority in mind, the one night to end their season, the one night that stood for the combination of all their hard work, the one night that they had to conquer. Feb. 12 marked the night of the girls’ basketball Almont League final match between the Moors and the Aztecs.

Before the match, the girls had a record of 9-0, a perfect score. Going into the match, there was a lot of anticipation for the team to finish the season with the coveted undefeated title.

“We have around eight or nine seniors on the team and we had a  pressure to go 10-0 for the season. After the match, there was a lot of relief,” said Magan Chiang.

That relief came from the fact that the Lady Moor’s did indeed take the Almont League championship with a record of 10-0 after winning the final game with a score of 53-45. Earlier that week, the team had already clinched the League title after defeating Bell Gardens but there was a need to triumph over rival Mark Keppel to finish the season with an unblemished record.

“We needed to go undefeated and show that it wasn’t a fluke when we beat Keppel at first. If we had lost, there would have been naysayers but we showed that we could do it,” said Head Coach Therese Berner.

During the second quarter of the fateful match, the Lady Moors had a 13 point lead over the Aztecs. But by halftime, that lead had diminished to a close four points.

“During halftime, we told ourselves that we could do it and that we were ready to win League. I admit I was tired, but we went into the third quarter and had control most of the time. Though they were fast and could push the ball, the third quarter lead gave us the boost to win,” said Vera Machado.

Alhambra’s taking of the League title is even more impressive after acknowledging that Mark Keppel had previously been League champions for the last eight years. For 87 games, Mark Keppel had gone undefeated until the Lady Moors took the victory that day.

“After coaching for 30 years, I can say that this season was one of the greatest highlights. This team has shown more passion and spirit than any team I’ve coached and they are very focused. It was phenomenal,” said Berner.

With the success of this game, the team has much to look forward to. CIF playoffs began this month and the team won their first playoff game against Los Osos High on Feb. 18.