Women’s basketball team struggled all season long

By MOHAMMAD NAJIMI Staff Writer

The women’s basketball team had its ups and downs this season which ended with a 11-16 record overall. They didn’t do well in conference play, having a 4-10 record when facing rivals.

The women started off strong, winning their first three games, before losing five of their next seven. They won their next three games to bump their record to 8-5 overall. This was the start of the downfall for the team as they would go on two separate five-game losing streaks, conjuring a 10-15 record with 2 games remaining in the season. Their biggest loss during this struggle was against Laney College with a final score of 90-36.

The struggle was based off of the abundant number of turnovers created from the team and the defense not clicking how they needed it to . The most turnovers they had in one game was in that

90-36 blowout against Laney College when they had 33. It was simple mistakes that the women couldn’t overcome throughout the season.

The season didn’t see the Mustangs heading into the playoffs as they didn’t win enough games to be in the top 16 in the NorCal league. They looked sloppy on the court and shots were mainly forced because players couldn’t get open looks. There were no facilitations of the offense from any of the guards bringing the ball up the court. It looked as though everyone was on their own to make a play for themselves instead of playing like teammates.

However, even with all these struggles, they did have moments where they looked spectacular. They looked like a well-oiled machine looking to blowout every team that they would face. They meshed together, made incredible plays, and didn’t give up if they were down.

The team had some good plays, but they mostly created horrible mistakes that should’ve never happened. The best player this season was Busola Ayiloge, who got rebounds, scored layups, played defense and more. She got physical when necessary and she was the key that kept LMC as close to .500 overall record as it is.

This season overall showed that the women have improvements to be made before next season begins. They showed flashes, but ultimately couldn’t overcome the crucial mistakes that they would continuosly make throughout the season. If they want to bounce back next year, they need to cut down on those momentum changing turnovers they constantly gave their opponent.

“To beat me, he’s going to have to kill me. He’s gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me and do that, he’s got to be willing to die himself.” – Rocky Balboa