This is the year for the Terra Nova girls basketball team to show what it can do.
It's the third season the team's nucleus has been together. Terra Nova won Peninsula Athletic League titles each of those previous years only to have its season end with a loss to a West Catholic Athletic League team â€" Notre Dame in 2010, St. Ignatius in 2011 â€" in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Terra Nova has three third-year starters who have signed letters of intent: Terilyn Moe with Nevada, Ivonne CookTaylor with Texas Tech and Jayzyl Tauala with San Jose State. And with St. Ignatius now in Division II and Notre Dame in Division IV, the Tigers would appear to have a legitimate shot at the CCS Division III championship. Santa Cruz and Sacred Heart Cathedral are also expected to contend.
"We weren't physical enough the last two years," Terra Nova coach Kareem Summerville said. "We didn't push anybody around. We're still undersized, but the girls have picked up their physical play."
Doing so was a necessity in non-league play as Summerville put together as tough of a schedule as possible. Terra Nova is 8-3 going into its PAL opener Wednesday against Mills. Its losses were to St. Ignatius, Bishop O'Dowd and Berkeley, all among the best in the Bay Area.
One problem will be maintaining the competitive edge the team has developed while playing its arduous non-league schedule. The PAL appears to be weak and will hardly provide
the kind of competition the Tigers will see in the postseason."I'll try to get everyone else involved and rest our big three as much as possible," Summerville said. "We need to keep focused on the light at the end of the tunnel."
Moe is averaging 22.8 points per game.
"She's on fire, hitting NBA 3s," Summerville said. "And she's developed her mid-range jumper.''
CookTaylor, a multi-skilled player who runs the court well, is averaging 13.9 points and 11.9 rebounds. Tauala, who has played in the shadow of the other two, is averaging 11.2 points and received validation with the scholarship offer from San Jose State.
"I think the girls are ready for the postseason," Summerville said. "They did a great job in non-league, went 2-1 against the WCAL. Hopefully we can represent the PAL well at CCS."
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