NEWS AND NOTES FROM PRESS ROW: Area teams in their ‘second season’ as league play is underway

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

The first week of league action provided very few surprises as the area basketball and soccer teams of the 605 League, Gateway League and Mid-Cities League begin jockeying for not only playoff position, but for their fate for next season and what leagues they will be put in as the new 20-school unnamed conference begins.

Note: The girls soccer teams of the 605 League play at the opposite sites as the boys and girls basketball teams and the boys soccer teams. The V.C. boys soccer team plays on the opposite site as the other V.C. winter teams in Olympic League action.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Artesia High was stunned by Pioneer High 66-52 this past Tuesday in the 605 League opener as the Titans snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Pioneers. Since the 605 League began, Artesia (7-9, 0-1) is now 12-3 against Pioneer. Artesia hosts Oxford Academy on Friday, travels to Whitney High on Monday and Cerritos High on Wednesday.

Gahr High (10-5) began Gateway League action at Mayfair High this past Wednesday and will host Dominguez High on Friday and Huntington Park High on Saturday in a non-league contest. The Gladiators will then go to Bellflower High on Wednesday.

La Mirada High has won four straight games to improve to 12-6, 1-0 entering its road encounter with Bellflower this past Wednesday as the Matadores will host Mayfair on Friday in Gateway League action. They will step out of league on Saturday when they face Weston Ranch High.

Valley Christian High fell to Maranatha High 69-27 last Friday in the Olympic League opener, then defeated Newport Christian High 80-56 this past Tuesday in a non-league game. The Defenders (10-8) will go to Village Christian High on Friday and Whittier Christian High on Tuesday while Whitney defeated longtime rival Oxford Academy 60-50 this past Tuesday to improve to 7-12 as the Wildcats will visit Cerritos on Friday.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Despite scoring the second most points against Pioneer since the 605 League was formed, Artesia still has not defeated the Titans, falling 61-45 this past Tuesday to remain winless in nine games.

In Gateway League action, Gahr fell to Paramount High this past Wednesday to drop to 7-11 as it will host Downey High on Friday before travelling to Lynwood High on Wednesday.

La Mirada fell to Downey 68-36 in the Mid-Cities League opener this past Monday to fall to 2-9. The Matadores, after visiting Lynwood this past Wednesday, will host Paramount on Friday and Bellflower on Monday.

V.C. (12-4) opened Olympic League action with a 55-47 win over Maranatha last Friday, then dropped a 44-38 decision to Long Beach Wilson High this past Monday while Whitney eased past Oxford Academy 57-28 to improve to 9-6.

BOYS SOCCER

Artesia improved to 14-2 lifetime against Pioneer since the beginning of the 605 League with a 1-0 win this past Tuesday, improving to 6-8-0 on the season while Cerritos fell to John Glenn High 3-1 this past Tuesday. The Dons are 4-4-2 and will entertain Whitney on Friday before going to Pioneer on Monday while the Eagles improved to 3-5-3 and will host Pioneer on Friday before visiting Oxford Academy and Whitney on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.

Gahr has dropped consecutive 2-1 decisions to Lynwood and Paramount in Gateway League action to fall to 5-5-2 as it went to Warren on Jan. 8 and will welcome Downey on Thursday.

In Mid-Cities League play, La Mirada was shutout by Norwalk 2-0 this past Tuesday and was 2-8-0, 0-2-0 as it visited Firebaugh on Jan. 8 and will go to Dominguez on Tuesday before hosting Bellflower on Thursday.

Norwalk (3-5-1, 1-1-0) hosted Bellflower on Jan. 8 in Mid-Cities League action and will travel to Mayfair and Dominguez on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively while V.C. (8-2-1) got past Maranatha 2-1 last Friday.

GIRLS SOCCER

One of the hottest teams in the area is Artesia, which moved to 9-1-3 following a 3-0 win over Pioneer this past Tuesday. The Pioneers have won five straight over the Titans and are 11-2-1 against them since the league was formed.

Gahr snapped an eight-game slide with a 1-0 win at Norwalk High this past Tuesday in Mid-Cities League action. The Gladiators (2-10-0, 1-1-0) hosted Firebaugh on Jan. 8 and will host Dominguez on Tuesday before going to Bellflower on Thursday.

La Mirada was edged by Paramount 2-1 this past Tuesday in the Gateway League opener. The Matadores (3-5-3, 0-1-0) hosted Warren High on Jan. 8 and will welcome Lynwood on Saturday before going to Downey on Thursday.

Norwalk (2-9-1, 0-2-0) went to Bellflower on Jan. 8 in a Mid-Cities League contest and will host Mayfair on Tuesday and Dominguez on Thursday.

V.C. (12-3-2) blanked Maranatha 5-0 last Friday and defeated California High 2-1 this past Tuesday.