The Malibu High School girls basketball team battled back from a double-digit deficit and almost completed a comeback win last Saturday in the Malibu High gym.
The Sharks were down 11, and then 13 points to the Bishop Diego Cardinals in the first half before coming within three points of tying the game. They eventually lost, 47-41.
Sharks center Amelia “Pip” Goudzwaard said she and her teammates were competitive in the contest.
“We definitely executed a lot of our plays,” she said. “We could have made more of our inside shots and got some more rebounds, but we were competitive and could have won.”
Sharks head coach Andy Meyer said there have been games this season where the Sharks have had to battle back into competition.
“It’s just a matter of showing them that just because you don’t have a great quarter or half doesn’t mean you can’t change it,” he said. “I think they are starting to understand that,”
The defeat put Malibu’s record at 5-15 before the game they had against Fillmore on Tuesday.
Bishop Diego was up, 12-1, in the first quarter before Janet Ann Purtell hit a jumper after taking a pass from Goudzwaard. Purtell scored a layup, while being fouled on Malibu’s next possession. She hit the foul shot to make the score 12-6.
In the second quarter, Goudzwaard hit a foul shot to score one of her team-leading 19 points. A few plays later, Erin Muldoon banked in a three-point shot, then hit a layup to make the score. Minutes later Goudzwaard scored on a fast break, then Muldoon hit a jumper, giving Malibu 18 points to Bishop Diego’s 24 at halftime.
Meyer said at the intermission he told his team that they would make more of their shots in the second half. The Sharks responded by getting into a bit of an offensive groove in the third quarter.
Chole Dyne hit a three to pull the Sharks within six points, then after a few Cardinal points, Goudzwaard hit another foul shot and scored a layup after missing her on shot attempt while curling to the hoop. Following that, Goudzwaard scored six points, but Bishop Diego still led, 40-33, at the end of the third quarter.
Purtell’s swishing jump shot was Malibu’s first bucket of the fourth quarter. Goudzwaard scored a few more times, while Malibu’s tough defense held the Cardinal’s top shooter in check and limited the visiting to only seven points before the game ended. Junior Taylor Pate hit five threes and scored 17 points for Bishop Diego.
Meyer said the Sharks hang their hats on their ability to play good defense. They played a box-in-defense against Bishop Diego to focus on top scorer Natalie Whiting.
“That’s our strength and we pass the ball well,” he said. “We also don’t want to give up second shots on the offensive board.”
Meyer said Malibu missed too many shots in the game’s first half.
“We started making more shots in the second half,” he said. “I had a feeling the game would get closer and I told them it would. And they started making more shots.”
The Sharks had a few fast break points in the contest after steals or long rebounds. Their coach said running the ball isn’t Malibu’s identity, but “if we get the chance to fast break, then fast break,” Meyer said he directs his squad.
Malibu’s go-to person is Goudzwaard. One of the taller players on the court, Goudzwaard scored her buckets on layups and foul shots. Once she positioned herself near the rim, Cardinal defenders couldn’t stop her, so she either scored or was fouled.
“I feel pretty confident,” Goudzwaard said of being in scoring position near the rim. “I think it’s my job to get the ball because it’s my ball—and to score no matter what.”
Before the loss to Bishop Diego, Malibu beat Villanova Prep, 26-25, on Feb. 1. The Sharks’ other wins this season have been over Nordoff, Wildwood and St. Bernard. Malibu’s last games this season were against Fillmore, Bishop Diego the day after and then Cate.
Meyer said he wants to the team to improve each game.
“If you have a game and lose and don’t learn from it that’s when you have really lost,” he said. “That’s the first step. It’s no longer me having to tell them, ‘Okay, this is why we lost.’”