Friday, March 29, 2024

Islander Girls Basketball Falls to High Tech High and Calexico

Friday, 12/16: High Tech High

On Friday, December 16, the Girls Varsity Basketball Team hosted High Tech High San Diego Storm for their second home game of the season. The first period wouldn’t bode so well for the Islanders as they trailed by a score of 16-3. Despite the early setback, the girls stepped it up by scoring eight points but were still down 29-11 after the second period. It simply was one of those games where baskets were hard to come by. 

“It wasn’t a very good shooting night. There were too many turnovers from bad passes and not getting out on the wings for shots,” Coach John Coolidge shared.

However, with lessons learned comes positive outcomes. Sophomore Selena Herrera had eight steals, and seniors Anna Youngblood and Rikka Navaretta had 10 and nine rebounds, respectively. 

Senior Rikka Navaretta prepares to grab a rebound off a missed free throw. She would go on to collect nine rebounds for the Islanders.

Although the girls would lose 47-21, they certainly learned to develop teamwork and improve communication on the court.

Senior Anna Youngblood pivots and attempts a pass to a teammate. She would collect 10 rebounds for the Islanders.

Tuesday, 12/20: Calexico

On December 20, the Islanders hosted Calexico for their third home game of the season. Due to winter break, the team was missing quite a few players, but that certainly didn’t stop the Islanders from putting up their best fight against a team that had driven over two hours to San Diego. 

Sophomore Selena Herrera would be the leading scorer of the night with 11 points and six steals.

The girls tallied 12 points at the half and wound up totaling 23 at the end of the game, marking the second-highest points scored for the season so far. However, it just wouldn’t be enough to defeat Calexico as the Islanders would yield 38-23.

“It was another tough game with too many passing mistakes which gave the opposition easy shots,” Coach Coolidge described.

Despite the score, there were still some major takeaways from the game. The Islanders played excellent half court defense and held Calexico to just a single 3-pointer. 

Junior Virginia Ryan had eight rebounds and eight block shots. Senior Kati Potter contributed 10 rebounds, and Herrera would be the leading scorer once again with 11 points and six steals.

Junior Virginia Ryan blocks a shot by a Calexico player. She had eight blocks and eight rebounds.

The coaches and players showed that they were more than just a win or a loss by enjoying a hearty meal of pizza before Calexico took their long bus ride home.

Coronado and Calexico bond over a meal after their game on December 20. Photo Credit: Coach John Coolidge

Catch the Islanders’ next home game on January 6th at 6 pm against University City. 



Bella Villarin
Bella Villarin
Bella is a proud military brat who has been a resident of Coronado since 2015. She was born in Japan, and after a short stay in Virginia, traveled extensively throughout Asia while living in Singapore and picking up another language. A senior at Coronado High School, Bella can be found at the driving range or golf course when not in school, studying, writing, playing the guitar, or spending time with her family. Have news to share? Send tips, story ideas or letters to the editor to: [email protected]

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