Samo Girls Basketball beats Culver with a late comeback

On Feb. 7, a packed audience witnessed the Samo girls basketball team come back from an early seven point deficit against Culver City High School, winning the game by a score of 39-33.Throughout the first quarter, Samo was struggling, often missing their shots, while Culver kept possession and came out of the first quarter with 11 points compared to Samo’s mere four. The end of the second and beginning of third quarter saw a shift of momentum. Thanks to great plays by Tiffany Minnie (’17), it became a one point game early in the third quarter with Samo leading 21-20.“We knew we had to win,” Carmen Donate (’18) said. “It was senior night and we hadn’t beaten Culver in four years so we were determined. We also knew that we only needed one more win to make it to playoffs, so during the second half we focused and started playing ball.”“I don’t think there was a shift in mentality,” head coach Douglas Kim said. “Last time we played them we lost by 34, so we were determined to win that game and put our best effort out. I was glad we were able to get the result.” After taking the advantage, Samo did not let go of the lead. Early in the fourth quarter, Diana Marcial (’18) made two back-to-back three-pointers to catapult Samo ahead with a score of 34-28. While the Culver players were able to narrow the lead to four points, the Samo girls kept their possession and dominated the last minutes of the game.Thanks to an away win against El Segundo High School, the girls will be playing their first playoff game on Thurs. 16 against Westlake High School.