Guy Ginsberg sports editor
Girls varsity basketball was victorious against league rivals Samo by a score of 71-66 at Santa Monica High School on Friday, Jan. 23.
Two of the three captains, point guards Jessica Melamed and Raina Castaneda, lead the game in scoring with 26 points each. This is the Lady Normans first league win, giving them a record of 1-1.
Melamed, a senior, explained how it felt to help lead the Normans to a victory.
“I feel amazing. It’s my senior year at Beverly and I wanted to make this game one of the best games throughout high school and I made it happen. I carried my team on my back and got the victory,” Melamed said.
Guard Lauren Moghavem accredits the win in part to the large Norman support in the crowd at Samo.
“I felt really confident [going in to the game] because the crowd on our side was big. It’s the best feeling knowing that our school is beside us cheering us on,” Moghavem said. “It was like a boost of energy going on that court.”
Moghavem also recognized the impact that hard work and emotional play had in coming through with a comeback win.
“There was so much emotion and hard work on the court that we couldn’t give up at all. There was a point when we were down by ten points and that was like a wake up call to us because the second we got back on the court. Samo could not stop us,” Moghavem said.
The Normans lost their first league game away to El Segundo with a score of 55-40. Despite entering this game against a school rival after a loss, the preparation was no different.
“I don’t know if we approached this game any different, but Samo is a tough atmosphere to play in. We approach each game depending on the opponent, but I think we approached this game very well and played very well,” girls varsity basketball coach John Braddell said. “In regards to this game, which is a rivalry, I think it was important to downplay the hype a little bit.”
Melamed also touched on the players’ approach to the game.
“Last night was a totally different game. Coming into the game, we had the mentality of winning. So we fought, played as a team and got the win,” Melamed said.
Braddell reflected on the season so far as a whole, as well as what is to come for girls varsity basketball.
“I think we are playing very well. We had some struggles in the middle of the season but we recently got some girls back from injury and I believe this team is headed in the right direction,” Braddell said.
Girls varsity basketball’s next game is a league home game against Culver City, who are first place in Ocean League with a record of 3-0, on Jan. 28.