It was understandable when several members of Point Loma High’s Lady Pointer basketball team walked off their home court last Friday in tears.
They had just lost a 27-24 game to league rival Coronado that was in doubt until the final two seconds when a desperation three-point shot attempt missed, but there was much more to those tears.
Consider these impressive accomplishments of the Pointer girls:
1.) This was their first loss of the season after opening on a remarkable 12-0 run.
2.) The girls are the reigning San Diego CIF Div. IV champions.
3.) Their last loss anywhere came on Feb. 21 last season.
4.) The last time they lost on their home court was Jan. 28 last year, and that was their only home loss all season.
It didn’t help matters that the Islanders are a mediocre 8-7 team and the rivalry between the two schools has become strong enough to bring out all school administrators, security personnel and a squad of school district police officers to maintain order in cavernous and nearly sold-out Lee Trepanier Gym.
The loss leaves the Pointers at 12-1 overall (3-1 in Central League play). The Islanders move to 8-7 (2-1). Both trail Kearny, who is 4-0 in league despite a 9-5 overall mark.
Critical for the Lady Pointers on this night was the foul trouble encountered by senior Morgan MacLean, the team’s leading scorer, who is averaging nearly 12 points a game.
MacLean’s fouls were not in crucial defensive situations, yet still sent her to the bench when she was assessed her fourth with just over three minutes left in the third period.
To this point, MacLean had sunk two critical three-point baskets, one that gave her team an 11-11 tie at intermission, and another that gave the Pointers a 19-17 lead just seconds before her fourth foul.
Midway through the fourth quarter, after Coronado scored eight unanswered points, Pointer head coach Dave Aros sent MacLean back into the fray, but she quickly drew an unnecessary final foul to end her night.
Down 25-19, the Lady Pointers rallied to make it a one-possession game before the final-shot miss.
“That’s the cool thing about our team. Every day, every game, our girls expect to win” Aros said.
One factor in his players’ high expectations is their defensive strength.
“Our team is a very good, very aggressive defensive team,” Aros noted. “What I haven’t done a good job in is how to translate that defensive aggression into some offensive aggression.”
Aros cited three factors that led to his team’s rare loss.
“We’re always cognizant of three things: always winning the rebound battle, making more free throws than we allow the other team to attempt, and winning the turnover battle. Tonight, we lost the rebound battle and only went six of fourteen from the free throw line. If we’re 10 of 14, we win by a point.”
But when you’re coaching a county championship team that’s won 12 of 13 games to date, it’s not time to panic.
“We just have to continue working to establish those little things that win ballgames,” Aros said.
Following last season’s CIF Div. IV title, the Lady Pointers move up to Div. III this season and have the best record of 20 Div. III teams in the section to date. EXTRA POINTS:
Teams play a home-and-home schedule in league play, and you can bet Lady Pointer players and fans have Friday, Feb. 6 circled on their calendars. Tipoff in the Islander gym is 6 p.m.
The Islanders boys completed a sweep in the double-header, drowning PLHS by a 49-37 margin. The struggling Pointers dropped to 3-10 overall (0-4 in Central League).
PLHS officials funneled Coronado supporters into the gym’s balcony area in an attempt to keep them separated from Pointer students and fans. The Islander students were loud and clever, one chant asking “What’s a Pointer?” which begs the question, “What’s an Islander?”
The Lady Pointers play the undefeated Kearny Komets Jan. 27 (home, 3:30 p.m.) and in the regular season finale Feb. 20 (away, 6 p.m.).