Madeleine Gates passes under pressure
during big victory at Fallbrook
in the semis. (Photo by Ed Piper)
Dave Westhem, outgoing girls basketball coach at La Jolla, thinks the 2014-15 edition could be even better.
"I think the team is actually going to be better than last year," said Westhem, who will now serve as assistant coach to new head coach Johnnie Horne. "The league is going to be weaker. OLP has lost their three top players. Cathedral won't be as good. We have our best player, Madeleine Gates, coming back."
Imani Gallagher, an incoming freshman, is expected to bring defense and an improving offense into the starting lineup next year. Besides Gates at center, veteran guards Jenna Harmeyer and Amanda Polcyn will be coming back. Jenna supplies the speed, and Amanda supplies her valuable experience after two years on the varsity of bringing the ball up the court and playing team defense.
"I haven't seen her play. I'm taking the word of her travel team coach," said Westhem of Gallagher. "Her offense has to be worked on. Her defense is outstanding, he would say."
Helen Lee, projected to be the point guard last season, will also be back for her junior year. She tore her ACL and missed the entire basketball season, as well as the spring lacrosse season. But she was there, tending the snack bar at the varsity baseball game Monday, May 19, while the Vikings whacked visiting Mission Bay, 17-0. I remarked to her how great it was that Emily Young had been able to come back and play the last four games of the lacrosse season after missing nearly seven months of field hockey and lacrosse due to her own ACL tear. Helen agreed. I said, "She's leading the way for you to come back." We both smiled.
"I think next year's team will be better than last year's team." Dave Westhem
This will be the first season with an overload of talent on the girls basketball roster. Last summer and the summer before, the girls team had a hard time fielding more than six players in some summer league games. Before Westhem and his two daughters, Ashley and Sierra, there wasn't a tradition of playing outside of the winter basketball season. Dave quickly instituted summer league play, which yielded immense benefits in the experience that Amanda, Jenna, and others got. Plus Sierra, Madeleine, Sophie Sowers, Jenna, and Amanda were able to play as a unit and get more and more used to one another.
When Sophie played as a freshman on the varsity team in 2010-11, which I witnessed as I showed up to photograph the boys varsity games, she was one of the few girls who seemed to practice outside of the formal team practices. When you're playing against teams that play year-round, and you don't have girls who play the sport outside of the team practices, it makes it pretty tough to be competitive. That's the way things were back then. Cathedral recruits girls who are talents. OLP likewise. Both have the advantage of being private Catholic schools that can offer tuition payment to student-athletes that they wouldn't receive otherwise. What can La Jolla offer a girl? More playing time?
So, roster projections: Center - Madeleine Gates, Western League First Team All-League. (She should have been All-CIF as well.) Guards: Jenna Harmeyer, Helen Lee, Amanda Polcyn, Katie Miller, Sakura Roberson, Imani Gallagher. Forwards: Satori Roberson.
According to Westhem and Horne, who mentioned it at the team's year-end banquet earlier this month, there is another athletic incoming ninth-grader besides Gallagher who plans to enroll at La Jolla High. Her sister played at Cathedral Catholic, but the family has decided on a change to La Jolla High.
Jenna Harmeyer (10) shows her agility
against Oceanside in the quarterfinals.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
Copyright 2014 Ed Piper
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