This year both the Girls and Boys Torrance High Basketball teams made it to CIF; qualifying in high divisions—the girls qualified for Division 2 and the boys for Division 3—both teams faced a series of dynamic competitors.
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Torrance Boys Basketball team has made it back to CIF: “for me, since this also happens to be my first and last year on varsity, it makes this run that much more important—it’s what I’ve been working towards for the past four years.” remarked senior team captain Timothy Umbarger.
Boys’ Basketball excelled this season, winning 20 games and losing 9. Securing impressive wins against schools like Peninsula; 50-28, Yucca Valley; 65-26, and Hawthorne; 83-48, gave them the opportunity to compete in CIF.
In their first CIF game, Wednesday, February 12, the team geared up to face the Brea Olinda Wildcats in Torrance High’s Main Gym; they won 49-39. The Tartars then won their second round match against Littlerock High School 48-45.
In the following game, the Tartars played the Aquinas High Falcons in the CIF quarter-final. In the first quarter the Falcons got off to a running start putting up 14 points to the Tartars 12. From there, Torrance would earn 10 more points, still the Falcons countered with 12 additional points of their own: going into halftime Aquinas 26, Torrance 22.
Coming back after half time, both teams put up a tough fight. Unfortunately, the Tartar team could not gain an advantage over the Falcons before the final buzzer. In the end, Torrance would go on to face a loss 58-43.
A team. A family. Even though the Torrance team was unable to earn a Championship this year, the bonds built and lessons learned in this program will serve to benefit these young men for years to come.
Ending their season Timothy Umbarger looked back on his time as a Tartar “I’ve had family that went to this school and I always knew that I’d be coming to play here too. I remember preparing for tryouts months in advance, practicing outside in the backyard of a trainer’s house, learning everything I could to prepare for high school basketball. For me, there was never any other option; I was always going to play basketball for Torrance no matter what.”
The Girls Basketball team performed exceptionally this season as well and finished with a 17-13 overall record; with weighty games like their 85-17 win against the St. Paul Swordsmen and their win against the San Pedro Pirates with a final score of 66-11.
Moving up a division—from Division 3 to Division 2—the Tartar girls faced bigger and stronger competition this go around: facing two teams, the Los Alamitos Griffins and the Sonora Raiders, before ultimately encountering defeat, finalizing their season.
Last season the team came just short of earning the Division 3 Championship, and though they could not make good on a complete redemption this season, the sweat and tears put in to create another season’s worth of history for Torrance High did not go unnoticed. As stated by senior player Dorina Glinn: “knowing that this will be my last time playing basketball, it means a lot and I’m so proud of this team.”
In their first round the Tartar Girls emerged victorious from their game against the Griffins 47-46; going into the third quarter with a tied score—34-34—in the last quarter the Tartars had to give a extra push to gain the leverage and point that secured them a spot to move onto their second round.
Unfortunately, in their second round game against the Sonora High Raiders, the Tartars met their defeat 71-55.
With a bitter end to a lovely season, the Girls Tartar team captain and senior Monica Villanueva expressed how much she will miss both the team and teammates she connected with this year as she mentions they were “such a big part” of her life and is “sad to be leaving.”
