Lady Centaurs overcome slow start to advance to semis

By Joe Snyder

Sports Correspondent

After a poor first quarter, Culver City High’s girls’ basketball team rallied to top Moorpark High, 47-39, in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2A quarterfinals on Feb. 23 in Culver City.

The win sent the Centaurs into the semifinals at home against top seed Orange Lutheran. The two squads will face each other on

The Lancers rolled through their first three games of the playoffs, including routing Valley View High from Moreno Valley, 59-28, in the quarterfinals recently at Orange Lutheran. The Lancers placed second behind Santa Ana Mater Dei, the top seed in Division IAA and rated number 1 in the United States by most national prep basketball rankings, in the Trinity League.

If the Centaurs can upset Orange Lutheran, they advance to the championship, Friday, March 1, 3:30 p.m., at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena and would face the winner of Tuesday’s semifinal between Redondo Union High School and number two seed Murrieta Valley.

Culver faced Redondo, which finished third behind co-champions West Torrance and Mira Costa in the Bay League, in the Redondo “Battle at the Beach” Classic in December and won 49-39. The Sea Hawks (19-11) have improved as the season went on and surprised third seed Patriot, 55-38, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 23 in Riverside.

During the first 10 minutes of the game, the Lady Centaurs missed shot after shot and fell behind, 15-5.  Culver City, which improved to 23-5 overall and is the fourth in the playoffs, stiffened its defense, holding the Musketeers to just four points in the rest of the second period and only four more in the third.

The Centaurs still managed only 10 points in the second quarter and were down 19-15 at halftime.

Culver City caught fire in the second half. Down 20-16 in the early going of the third period, the Centaurs went on a 15-0 run to go from a four-point deficit to an 11-point lead late in the quarter. Culver City took control of the rest of the game.

Returning all-CIF Southern Section Division 2A point guard Taylor Tanita was dominant in the second half, scoring 20 of her game-high 24 points.

“After a bad first quarter, we shot better,” Culver City Head Coach Julian Anderson said“We made better decisions.”

Along with her 24 points, Tanita added eight assists and six steals.

“Once she got going, Taylor led the way,” Anderson said.

Kira Cosworth, who led Moorpark with 13 points, got the Musketeers back in the game in the fourth period, making a key three-pointer to get them within six points. Ueda chipped in nine points, six of those in the fourth quarter.

Key baskets and free throws by Tanita and Kelsey Ueda, however, helped Culver City pull away and moved the Centaurs to their second consecutive 2A semifinal appearance. Last season, they fell to host Norco in the semifinals.

THREE BALL: Senior Taylor Tanita makes a three -pointer giving the Lady Centaurs the lead for good in a 16-1 second half run for a 47-39 win over Moorpark at Culver City High School in the CIF Division 2A quarterfinals.

Photo by George Laase