Women ready to roll in playoffs

By Aaron Turner
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

After a gut-wrenching loss to bitter rival Foothill College on Jan. 21, The Rams needed to finish strong the remaining month of the season in order to have momentum going into the state playoffs.

Finishing strong is just what they did, winning their next 6 games to finish out the regular season. This gives them the coveted No.1 seed thanks to their 31-2 record, even though they ended one game behind Foothill in the overall Coast Conference standings, with an 8-2 conference record.

“Just because we didn’t win conference, doesn’t mean we can’t win state,” Guard Brittney Allen said. “It hasn’t affected us at all going into the playoffs.”

This confidence is just what the Rams need in order to make a deep run in this year’s state playoffs, as they will up against very tough competition.

The Rams will face either Sacramento City College or College of San Mateo in the first round at the Wellness Center. For Allen, playing at home is not very important.

“I think we may actually play better on the road,” Allen said.

As for head coach Jamie Wong, beating Foothill at home on Feb. 13 was a great way for her team to finish out the season.

“We had an opportunity to play and win against one of the top teams in the state, and that gives us confidence that we can compete with anyone,” Wong said.

Freshman forward Courtney Buster credited a lot of her team’s confidence to the sophomore leadership of guard Stephanie Truong and forward Monique Calvello. Calvello, who suffered an injury a few weeks ago, is still questionable for the playoffs.

“Even through tough times, both Stephanie and Monique have been the glue of our team.” Buster said. “Monique has still been there, even though she is hurt, and has been rooting us on all the way.”

The Rams will be facing some elite competition in the playoffs. In the South, Ventura is 31-0 while in the North, Fresno City and Foothill are 28-6 and 25-6 respectively.

If there is any pressure for the playoffs, none of the Rams players seem to be showing it, as Coach Wong can attest.

“We won 6 tournament championships already in the preseason. We feel confident as ever now.”