Steamrolling the Harbor League competition last week, the Islander Girls Basketball Team remained undefeated in conference play with decisive victories over Christian by the score of 48-38 and then got things really rolling against Crawford with a 72-23 victory.

In the latter contest, junior Amanda Marks earned a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Alexis Castro accomplished a prep rarity, a triple-double featuring 26 points, 10 assists and 15 rebounds.

According to Head Coach Toler Goodwin, one of the unique elements of the Crawford game was that the Islanders scored only two points in the first 4 minutes of the game. "Then we turned up the defensive pressure and we got a lot of people involved," Goodwin continued to say. "We’ve got to get better at making decisions (with the ball). We need to make sure we get positive trips every time down the floor.

Against Crawford, Anne Marie Strohbeck added 12 points, with Janelle Kuhlow and Brooke Becky adding six points each.

The Islanders completed the week with a non-conference home game against Mira Mesa and wound up losing 56-37. Goodwin, who has become an expert at summarizing a 90 minute game in 15 seconds or less said, "They didn’t miss and we didn’t make anything in the first half. We didn’t do the things we need to do defensively. We just weren’t converting on the trips down the floor and that made a big difference. We had clean looks and didn’t make them. But, we got some things done in the fourth quarter that might help us down the road."

In a recurring theme expressed among all of the winter sports coaches, semester final exams, which were held last week, which seemingly played a large role in the outcome of several CHS games. Goodwin added, "Against Mira Mesa, we never looked like we were in synch. We didn’t play very well. It was finals week and the kids had a lot on their minds."

The good news is that Castro will have the cast taken off of her left hand this week, which was put in place to protect a broken bone. The additional good news is that the Islanders are 14-7 overall and 4-0 in the Harbor League, good enough for first place in the conference standings. This week the Islanders host Madison in an early week game on Tuesday and then play Hoover at 6 pm Friday evening as the front part of the Girls/Boys doubleheader.

The Boys Basketball Team split their two games this week, which included a 65-51 home victory over Christian and a 53-49 loss at Crawford Friday evening. Against the Patriots, seniors Brett Milke with 21 of his 29 points scored in the second half and Tommy Corcoran, the Islanders presence in the middle with 10 points, led the way to the victory.

Friday night’s game was another matter as the Islanders had trouble in the contest with turnovers. After taking an 8-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Islanders lost the second quarter 20-10 and trailed by eight points at the break. "We made a really nice run at the end of the ball game," said Head Coach Sandy Dillon. "We didn’t play well enough early in the game to win."

Milke was Coronado’s leading scorer with 12 points, while Tony Moore and Julian Cole contributed 11 points each. "Cote Perkins played real well in the first half. He played real hard," Dillon said. Perkins, who was the starting quarterback on the Islanders 9-2 squad during the fall, has seen considerable playing time at center this season.

Despite the loss, the Islanders had a good practice Saturday morning. "We’ll see what the kids are made out of this week," Dillon added. "We practiced as well this Saturday after the loss as they did the previous Saturday after the win."

The Islanders are currently 15-6 overall, and 2-2 in the Harbor League. This week could see a big swing atop the league as Hoover and Crawford play each other Tuesday, while the Islanders host Hoover Friday evening, with both games likely going a long way toward deciding the league title.

The Division IV CIF playoff outlook is still undecided. Dillon rates Coronado, Francis Parker, Horizon Christian and Palo Verde as among the contenders for the Division IV title.

Perhaps the best week of any CHS team was turned in by The Boys Soccer Team as they forged a 2-0 week on the strength of a 2-1 win over Christian High School and a 3-0 win over Madison. Phil Bond and Stuart Gallant found the back of the net for the Islanders in the Christian game, while Bond, Buddy Marshall and Kelcey Fisher handled the scoring honors against Madison.

Head Coach Brian Hiatt, who saw his team rebound from a 0-0 tie against Madison in the first run through the Harbor League, knows all of the remaining games are important if the Islanders hope to return to the playoffs in 2004. "Our playoff aspirations are hanging by a thread. We know we have to finish first in league, or if not, finish second and hope some teams vote for us(in the coaches’ seeding meeting). There are probably 20 teams that will be fighting for the 12 spots in the Division III playoffs."

Hiatt noted the fine play of Bond last week, who plays center mid and of senior sweeper Ryan Haig. Coronado hosts Hoover in an early week game and then plays at Crawford Thursday.

Miles Ramirez, head coach of the CHS Girls Soccer Team, saw his team lose twice last week, but isn’t worried because he knows that he has the talent on his squad to compete well in the post season. Last week’s results were a 2-1 loss to University City and a 2-0 loss to USHDS.

"We had a good week. Although we lost both games, we learned a lot. The girls got down on themselves after the U.C. game Wednesday. It was a trying week for the girls because they had finals. Then we had a team meeting Thursday and although it was a loss against USDHS, it was probably the best game we played all year long.

USDHS came out with a lot of energy and scored in the first 10-15 minutes. After that we settled down and we hit the cross bar, the uprights and missed an open net. Late in the game we had everybody pushed up for a tie and the counterattacked and scored in the 80^th minute. The next time we play them, they won’t have any more punches. We’ve seen everything they’ve got."

Last week also marked a milestone in Coronado Girls Soccer, as John Walker, head coach of the University Nebraska paid a visit to Coronado to see junior goalie Jamie Klages. "Nebraska is one of the Top 10 teams in the nation," said Ramirez. "He flew out here to see Jamie, but while he was here, he found a diamond in the rough in Ashley Copp. He was impressed with the high caliber of the play in our game with USDHS."

The Islanders are currently 15-3-3 and as every team in the Western League has two losses in conference play, are still alive in second place. "We’re right there in the hunt," said Ramirez of his team. "Four of the seven teams in the Western League are ranked in the Top 10 in the city."

This week the Islanders are at Scripps Ranch Wednesday and host Christian Friday.

The Girls Water Polo Team also was 1-1 last week, suffering a 14-7 loss to Bishop’s before rallying for a 7-5 win over Scripps Ranch.

The Bishop’s game was unusual in that the Knights led 6-5 at halftime, before pulling away in the second half. "We were happy with the way we played," said Head Coach Dave Throop. "We saw some things we knew would come up and some mistakes that might appear and did. That’s a tough game to play, especially during the first day of finals when the girls have their heads all over the place. Staying focused on top of finals, against a rival, that’s a tough question to be asked."

Throop continues to alternate Megan Braun and Coral Kubala in goal. Braun drew the Bishop’s assignment, while Kubala was in goal for the Scripps Ranch contest. "Both of them played well. We still haven’t decided on a No. 1 goalie because they keep outplaying each other," said Throop. "Coral played well versus Scripps. She kept us in the game when we were mentally flat."

This week the Girls Water Polo Team has an early week game against Patrick Henry, then play La Jolla on the road. Then they travel to the SoCal Invitational at Irvine, where they will play five games. "We’re seeded 10^th," said Throop. "We have seven games this week. Next week we end the regular season Saturday with a game against Newport Harbor."