This was definitely not "ladies night" for the Lady Corsairs of Santa Monica College.

The Lady Owls were on a mission and rout the Corsairs by 30 points at home in Glendora on Wednesday night (2/11/09).

We have all heard the story about the boy who severely stubs his toe and when asked about it replies "it hurts too much to laugh but I'm too big to cry."

So it is with the Lady Corsair's performance in Glendora last Wednesday night.

It's hard to tell if the Owls were on fire or if the Corsairs were simply ice cold. It was probably a little of both. This was nevertheless the worst Lady Corsair show of conference play. In truth, it was dismal.

It would take the Lady Corsairs to over seven and a half minutes to score their first basket; 7:42 to be precise. Surprisingly the score was only 12-2 at this juncture. Then when it could not possibly get worse ... it did. Inattentive and mistimed pases caused turnover after turnover. And let's give credit where it is due - well executed steals, rebounds, and shots by the Owls didn't help the Corsair cause at all.

The half time buzzer was and act of kindness - a reprieve of sorts - a chance to regroup and play the ball they are capable of playing. The went into the lockers trailing by 24 points. The score was 45-21.

The ladies looked pretty good in the first three minutes of the second half. Down by 24 leaves you no choice - you must come out fighting and not let up. They scored nine unanswered points and closed the gap to a 15 point deficit. The Owls fought back and the two teams essentially traded baskets for the next three minutes with the Corsair having a slight advantage. They narrowed the lead to 13 points - the smallest lead of the second period.

Then the Owls simply turned on the heat again and never looked back. Bianca Nunz scored 21 points. She was 8-12 at two point attempts. Jessica Nieves scored 19 points and hit 5-9 free throws. Jasmine Mathews scored 15 points. Terri Washington scored 13 points but also had 10 rebounds. All but one Citrus Lady Owl that played for ten or more minutes scored at least five points.

The Corsair numbers were not as impressive but still respectable. Karlia Batalla led the team with 17 points. She had 5-6 free throws but only made 4-10 field goals and four rebounds. Audrial Wyrick scored 12 points and also only had four rebounds. Jewell Morris had ten points and lead the team with six rebounds. Ray Ray scored only four points. Curiously, Maye Danganan and Liz Zimmerman each spent less then ten minutes on the court.

I spoke with Coach Eric Anderson and he said that the game tonight was a "must-win" game for them to make the playoffs and that they needed to avenge the loss earlier at Santa Monica."We didn't play well the first time. We got lackadaisical. They shot tremendously well. We had to regroup and play one game at a time. We had to develop a sense of urgency," he said.

The coach said that SMC "... had to play Canyon and West L A. We have to play Glendale and Bakersfield. They have the tough schedule the rest of the way."

With the loss, the Lady Corsairs are now at 6-3 in conference and 10-14 overall. They are in second place behind Canyons who are 9-0. Citrus and West Los Angeles are now tied for third place at 6-4.

They play Bakersfield at home on Saturday. There are no "easy" games in this conference, but the Ladies of Santa Monica Basketball should beat Bakersfield. The two games that follow, Canyons and West L A are going to be the hardest test of the season. Canyons beat the Corsairs a few weeks ago in their home court. The Corsairs beat West L A at home but have to travel to Culver City for the final conference game of the season.

It's all on the line now. They need to win the last three games.