The West High girls’ basketball team took on John Burroughs High, Tuesday March 3, 2015, to determine who would make it to CIF championships. West won with an impressive score of 54-31 and will be playing their CIF finals game on Saturday, March 7, 2015.

This game was really important to the girls because after winning CIF last year, they wanted to live up to their title and bring home another ring this year. The girls were determined to represent and according to Monica Merkovsky (12), “it was by far one of our best defensive games the whole season.” She accredits their win to their lacks of antics because “[we] all played our roles and didn’t try too much. We complemented each other well on the court.”

Their playing style has changed as they wound down to their last game of the actual season and headed into the CIF Playoffs. Instead of focusing on new plays or tricks in the playbook, the girls have focused on their skill and strengths as individuals. It shows on the court that they developed the ability to use their strengths and combine them to play exceptionally as a team.

Their win was particularly impressive because as a number 4 seed team they played the number 1 seed team in the division and knocked them out. Kalei Atkinson (10), said “I was so excited that we won because the whole team felt so accomplished and it shows our hard work paying off.” As of March 5, 2015 the girls basketball team has switched ranks and are now 38th on the national level and 8th for the state. As they keep bringing home wins, their rank continues to shoot up. The finals will be played Saturday March 7 at 3:00 p.m. at Azusa Pacific University.

If the girls keep up their strong defense and teamwork, they could be one step closer to becoming CIF champs for the second year in a row.