CHS girls defeated by Panthers in basketball

The Calabasas girls’ basketball team’s season ended with a first round loss vs. Newbury Park, the champions of the Marmonte League—the league in which the Coyotes will compete beginning next year—70-40 last Friday night.

Calabasas had defeated Lompoc, 44-43, in a wildcard game two days earlier.

Vs. Newbury Park, the Coyotes got 21 points, 14 in the second half, from junior forward/center Taylor Wolff, but she was one of only four Calabasas players who got into the scoring column (as opposed to 10 for Newbury Park).

Ellery Kassel, a sophomore guard, had 12 points, freshman point guard Antonia Zeigler had five, and Jamie Fassberg, a sophomore (recently brought up from the Calabasas JV) contributed two points.

"It was a great learning experience," said Coyote coach Ellen Blackmun. "We played them tough for most of the first half. But the game just kind of got away from us, and that happens when you play a good team like Newbury Park.

"But the good news," Blackmun added, "is that we’ve got a lot of young kids on this team and I predict that we’re going to be even better next year."

Against Newbury Park, the Coyotes were down 18-7 after one quarter, and after trailing 24-7, Calabasas scored eight straight points to momentarily get back in the game at 24-15. In that 8-0 run, Kassel scored after a steal, Wolff hit a basket off the glass, Kassel scored on a fast break and Zeigler scored on an off-balance jumper from the foul line.

However, the Panthers outscored Calabasas 10-2 the remainder of the first half to take a prohibitive lead of 17 points, 34-17, at the intermission.

After a 25-point third quarter, Newbury Park’s lead swelled to 29 points at 59-30.

"I think it will definitely help," Wolff said of playing the Marmonte League’s perennial powerhouse. "We all need experience. We’re a young team right now and we’re learning. We’ll get there.

Wolff added, "We needed to see how they play and then over the summer we’ll work hard. We’re much better than last year."

Kassel looks forward to the challenge of playing in the tougher league for basketball next season.

"Going into the Marmonte League next year is going to be fun," Kassel said, "because we have a really young team and we’re going to work really well together. I think this was a good wake up call for us."

How does Kassel size up the season?.

"I think at the beginning of the season we were kind of a different team," she said. "But we really came together, became good friends, and it pulled us through the playoffs. We went further than anybody thought we would."