Anzar High first-year girls basketball coach Paul Lerma feels
the Hawks will be competitive this year. And with Anzar’s 3-5
preseason effort, he may be right.
Anzar High first-year girls basketball coach Paul Lerma feels the Hawks will be competitive this year. And with Anzar’s 3-5 preseason effort, he may be right.
The Hawks start the Mission Trail Athletic League’s 16-game season today at Carmel at 4:30 p.m.
Lerma, who headed the junior varsity last year, is fully aware of Anzar’s record in league games over the past four seasons. The Hawks are 1-50, their lone win coming in 2000.
“I have to hand it to my girls,” said Lerma. “They’ve taken some beatings, but they never put their heads down. Our goal is to win some games and be more competitive. We might surprise some people this year.”
The Hawks, with wins over Mountain View Academy, S.F. Christian and Liberty Baptist, host league favorite Santa Catalina on Tuesday. The tipoff has been moved up from 6:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Anzar’s JV program has been put in the deep freeze due to a lack of players, so Lerma opted to move the four remaining JV players up to the varsity. That pushed the roster to 11 players.
“You never know,” said Lerma. “These girls have potential and can develop. Practicing with the varisty will help.”
Lerma knows the Hawks will be undersized in most games.
Anzar, though, will answer the call with 5-foot-11 sophomore Amanda Link at forward and 5-9 senior Megan Lerma, Paul’s daughter, at center. The three-guard lineup includes sophomore Suzie Garcia, senior Heidi Rivera and senior point guard Cory Strasser. First off the bench are 5-8 center Kristy Huerta and sophomore guard Cody Campoli.
“All the girls are capable of scoring,” said Paul. “We look for everyone of them to contribute offensively.”
The Hawks will play a zone defense as much as possible this year, Paul said.
MTAL Schedule
(All games except today’s start at 6:30 p.m. but subject to change)
Today – at Carmel, 4:30
Jan. 7 – Santa Catalina, 5:30
Jan. 9 – at Gonzales
Jan. 11 – Soledad
Jan. 15 – at Greenfield
Jan. 17 – R.L. Stevenson
Jan. 22 – at King City
Jan. 29 – at Pacific Grove
Jan. 31 – Carmel
Feb. 5 – at Santa Catalina
Feb. 7 – Gonzales
Feb. 11 – at Soledad
Feb. 13 – Greenfield
Feb. 15 – at R.L. Stevenson
Feb. 18 – King City
Feb. 22 – Pacific Grove
