End of the 1st Half

Dear Friends and Family:

Riki’s Redondo Union High School team finishes the first half of Bay League play this Tuesday 2/27 vs. West Torrance at Redondo at 6 p.m. This is a battle for third place in the league as both teams are 2-2 in league.

Redondo then plays at Palos Verdes on Friday (again at 6 p.m.) and at Bishop Amat in La Puente on Saturday at 7 p.m. (non-league). Bishop Amat features one of Riki’s former club teammates, Michelle Yamamoto.

Since the last update, Riki’s team has gone 2-2, with wins against Peninsula (1/16) and Leuzinger (on Friday, 1/23) and losses to Beverly Hills (1/17) and archrival Mira Costa (1/20). The losses were particularly disheartening as RUHS lost a 3-pt halftime lead against favored Beverly Hills and were “blown out of the water” by Mira Costa from the get-go.

Against Peninsula, Riki scored her season high of 15, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter to help RUHS erase a 4-point deficit en route to a 10-pt win. For the game, she hit two threes and was five for five from the free throw line including the completion of a three-point play following a drive down the lane to turn the tide. During the five game stretch between Mark Keppel on 1/10 and Mira Costa on 1/20, Riki shot 28-30 (93%) from the free throw line. Alas, all good things come to an end when she missed her first four free throws yesterday (1/23) against Leuzinger before hitting her last two. Thankfully, the game was never in question (a 29-point RUHS win), so the free throws weren’t missed.

Thanks for all of your support!

The Mid-Year Wall

Dear Friends and Family:

Riki’s Redondo Union High School team seems to have hit the mid-year wall (after a long summer followed by a fall league). The team, which because of inexperience, had a sharp learning curve, seems to be running on empty as they begin the Bay League season. Case in point was last Saturday’s loss to Mark Keppel where RUHS lost a four-point halftime advantage en route to a 45-36 loss. Against Bay League rival Palos Verdes on Tuesday, the team trailed from the end of the first quarter and never drew closer than six points en route to another 9-pt loss, 44-35.

As for Riki, against Keppel, she added two defensive charges to her school record of 12. She was 7-8 from the free throw line to finish with seven points total. Against PV, Riki again scored only from the line, hitting 6 of 6. In both games, she played almost the entire second half and is now averaging over 25 minutes (out of 32 total) per game, by far the most on her team.

The challenge right now is to keep a positive outlook on the rest of the season and to keep trying to develop the raw talent on the team.

Redondo plays Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates) at 6 p.m. at RUHS on Friday. Bay League play continues when Redondo hits the road to take on league-favorite and arch-rival Mira Costa (Manhatten Beach) on Tuesday 1/20 at 6 p.m.

Thanks, as always, for your continued support!

Midpoint of the season

Riki’s Redondo Union High School team continues to work its way through the midpoint of the season having split their four games in the Gahr tournament before the end of the year.  Now at 5-7 on the year, they have 14 games remaining, 10 of which are in Bay League competition.

 

Redondo plays this Saturday 1/10 at Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra at 3 p.m.  This game should be interesting for Riki as Keppel is primarily made up of Asian players, some of whom played club ball for the organization Riki grew up with (SGV).  Redondo’s size should be a factor.  For those interested, the schools’ frosh/soph teams hook-up at 12 noon and the JV teams play at 1:30 p.m.

 

Redondo begins Bay League play next week when they host the Palos Verdes teams (PV on Tuesday and Peninsula on Friday).  Varsity girls games start at 6 p.m. and are followed by Varsity boys (and preceded by JV games).  They end next week with a tough game at highly-ranked Santa Monica on Saturday 1/17 at 8 p.m.

 

On a personal note, Riki has just set the school’s season record for taking charges.  Through 12 games, Riki has taken 10 charges (the old record was 8 set by now assistant coach Alison Bretania).  Of course, every time Riki hits the floor, we cringe.

 

Thanks for the continued support!