The Woodside Boys’ Varsity Basketball team lost 36-65 against Sequoia High School in the last rivalry game of the year. The Woodside Girls’ Varsity Basketball team also lost this rivalry game, 48-26.
Woodside’s Varsity team is currently 1-9 with the season coming quickly to an end. They are in last place in their league while Menlo-Atherton and Carlmont, two local rivals, are in first and second place. The Varsity team’s sole victory was a close game, 53-52, versus Terra Nova.
De’Andre Brown, a junior who plays center for the Boys’ Varsity team, believes that the game versus Sequoia “kind of [reflected the rest of their season. They] only have four guys on [their] team that have played Varsity, so the majority of [their] squad had no experience.”
Unlike the boys’ team’s single victory, the girls’ team boasts a 0-9 league record. The girls’ team is no stranger to a losing streak; in the 2017 to 2018 season, they had one win versus San Mateo.
Winning the Sequoia versus Woodside rivalry earns the school bragging rights in every sport. But lately, Sequoia has rightfully hogged those rights.
Brown said that “the turnovers [and] miscommunication killed [them]” during the Sequoia game. “[They] started off strong, going back and forth with Sequoia, but after that, it was just the turnovers.”
And, it’s no secret that Woodside’s basketball program has been out of the spotlight in recent years.
Gavin Carlson, Woodside junior and the point guard on the Boys’ Varsity team, argued, “Woodside just hasn’t been a good basketball program for a while… the main thing we lack [is] confidence and pride.”
Despite losing by a 30 point deficit, Carlson and his teammates would argue that the game was fun.
“In the second half, although the game was already over we did play a lot harder and actually had fun during the game for the first time in a while,” Carlson reflected.
Woodside just hasn’t been a good basketball program for a while… the main thing we lack [is] confidence and pride.
— Gavin Carlson
In the boys’ team’s defense on their losing streak, they have a new coach, so they all have to work together to adapt to a new coaching style.
“It was just difficult trying to adjust to a new system of coaching… being in a basketball program, you always know how all your coaches coach, but we didn’t know his system yet,” explained Brown.
Despite their outstanding 10-0 preseason, the Girls’ Varsity team is also struggling to obtain a victory.
When asked about what isn’t working for the team, Natalya Hotovec, a sophomore as well as the team’s point guard and co-team captain, noted that “some of the plays don’t work.”
The Girls’ Varsity team is fairly young compared to recent years and has only one senior. Sometimes, a lack of experience can hurt a team.
Hotovec’s solution to the team’s problem is “better plays and knowing what works and what doesn’t.”
Unlike the Varsity team, however, the Junior Varsity (JV) girls’ team is 19-2 overall and 8-2 in league. It’s rare that a JV team is better than its Varsity team, raising questions as to why the Varsity team isn’t doing well.
Considering the girls’ JV team is doing well, they will potentially help Woodside put its name back on the map once all the players move up to Varsity.
Despite the teams’ poor season outcomes, their spirits are not down. Boys’ basketball plays at Hillsdale High School this Wednesday and the girls’ team will play Hillsdale at Woodside.
“As for the last two games, we are staying optimistic,” Carlson declared. “The goal is to finally play as well as we do in practice… Hopefully, we can end the seniors out with a league win or at least one of better games.”
