Agoura rebuilds in girls’ basketball

Two girls’ basketball teams with first-year coaches, Agoura and Thousand Oaks, enter the final weeks of their respective Marmonte League schedules without hope of winning a championship, but they both seek improvement.

The Chargers were 8-11 overall, 2-5 in league, and the Lancers were 10-11, 2-5 as the week began, but while Agoura head coach Dina Palmisano and Mary Hauser, her Thousand Oaks counterpart, would like better records, both also are making the best of their respective seasons.

After the host Chargers beat the Lancers 57-53 last Wednesday, Palmisano was pleased. "They all played well and that’s what it took," she said.

"We’ve been working on teamwork. I think a lot of (the problem) this season has been that they have not come together as a team and not individual play. I was concentrating on the group of five that was playing well together."

The triumph over Thousand Oaks marked the second consecutive win for Agoura. On Jan. 23 they beat the host Calabasas Coyotes, 54-32.

But last Friday, the winning streak ended when Agoura lost to the host Royal Highlanders, 74-31. Jasmine Jenkins scored 12 points for the Chargers.

Hauser said that Thousand Oaks is a young team and makes a lot of mistakes.

"I compliment them," she said. "They come out fighting every game. You can never say anything but great things about their efforts. They really played hard. They gave it their all."

Reviewing the Agoura game, Hauser said, "We dug a hole and we had to fight and couldn’t quite come back."

Palmisano said that Agoura had a tough start in the early season because the team didn’t have the four of its strengths,seniors Jenkins, low-post Christina Gordon, guard Danielle Ogez and point guard Katie Federson playing together.

"Bringing them together (has) been tough and we’ve had injuries," she said. "Hopefully, we’re getting everybody healthy and back playing and working together."

Speaking of the quartet, Palmisano said, "Jenkins is really coming into her play (and is) just real tough on the inside. She’s really unstoppable on the inside when she’s on.

"She’s done really well. She’s been our leading scorer, topping the Marmonte (League) in rebounding and scoring. She’s been a leader out there in showing hard work and motivation and what it takes."

The Agoura coach added that Gordon has been coming into her own.

"She’s getting her shots underneath, she’s getting rebounds and putting them back in," her coach said. "She really has picked it up a lot, too, to help us out on the inside and work it around."

Ogez has always been a steady player, helping to bring the ball down court and with her outside shooting, rebounding and defense, Palmisano said.

Regarding Federson, the coach said, "She’s a good lefty. She’s really tough to stop, so long as she keeps going strong and playing well."

Sophomore center Rose Hunt and sophomore guard Chelsea Martinson have also been assets. Hunt returned to action in the T.O. game. She was injured during the Santa Barbara Tournament Dec. 20-23.

"She came back and played really well," Palmisano said.

"Chelsea is a hustler, too. She has really picked it up and put the pressure on. She’ll just go after it. She’ll fall on the floor."

Senior point guard Heidi Okowitz is showing leadership, Palmisano said.

Junior point guard Lindsey Millman drew her first starting assignment in the Thousand Oaks game.

"She looked really good," Palmisano said. "I am just trying to get her to understand how to read the floor. As she picks it up and comes into her own, I’m looking forward to next year with her. She played well (against Thousand Oaks). She’s a hustler."

Hauser also put a familiar player into the lineup for the Agoura game.

"It was nice to have (freshman guard) Kate Kevorken back," she said. "She helped our offense. This was her first week back."

Hauser is hopeful for more wins as the season winds down.

"We’ve been struggling a little bit of late," she said. "We need to go back to the drawing board and keep working. I think we just need to come out and give it our all, keep playing hard—and sometimes you catch a break."