Valley Star

Issue date: 2/15/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Artak Ayvazyan and LaGina Phillips The Lady Monarchs are playoff-bound while the men's team is out in the cold.

For the past 10 seasons the men's basketball team has enjoyed the prestige and the accolades. They finished either first or second in the Western Conference, including state championship honors from 2000-03. But good things can always come to an end. And falling to 3-8 in the conference after a tough 63-58 loss to Bakersfield on Saturday means the Monarchs will miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 seasons, and finish near the conference cellar. Fortunately for Valley basketball fans, the women's team has picked up where the men left off. Even though the Lady Monarchs also lost to Bakersfield over the weekend, 85-69, the women are playoff bound, and they have an 8-3 conference record to show for it.

"This team has matured so much," said women's head coach Ruth Seja on her team's performance this year. "Our defense has really kept the team in a lot of games this year. If we keep our heads and continue to play hard, we'll go far."

This new switch in success could not have been more evident than in last Wednesday's games versus Santa Monica. The women would pull out a 71-66 victory over the Corsairs; the men would stumble again, losing 94-84.

Leading the way for the Lady Monarchs all season has been point guard Saida Johnson. And this game was no exception. Johnson lit up SMC for 28 points - slashing her way to the hoop, and creating high-percentage shots in the paint. With other guard Laquisha Samuel, Valley's frontcourt dictated the tempo for the majority of the 40-minute contest.

Employing a backcourt-trap defense midway through the first half paid immediate dividends.

"The turning point of the game was when we applied the press," said the talented 5-foot-3 Johnson. "From how we started the year in preseason, I couldn't have envisioned this type of improvement. We're playing well, and we have grown as a team."

I wish the same could be said for the men. Instead, they had their hands full.

"This was our last gasp," said men's head coach Kenny Williams following the defeat to SMC. "We came out flat and lazy. We didn't play a real good team game, and this has been the method to our madness all season long."

The opposite could be said for Santa Monica College. The Corsairs came out looking to be aggressive, and were, feeding the ball into the post for 6-foot-9 center Shakir Johnson to do work. Johnson dominated the low post all game long, and led all scorers with 32 points. In addition, Johnson was a huge defensive presence. He was able to alter many of the Monarch drives to the basket with his shot-blocking ability, and as a result the Monarchs had to settle for jump shots and a perimeter game.

Continued...

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