Samohi Girls Improve Basketball Record To 13-1:

One of the most successful teams on the Westside this season is the Santa Monica High girls’ basketball squad. A group of outstanding players graduated following last season, but Coach Marcus Charuvastra has assembled a new team that has won 13 games and lost only one. Samohi began its Ocean League schedule last week with a 60-42 win at home over Morningside and a 47-38 road win over Inglewood. At Inglewood last Friday, Katie Keating had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Emily Foshag contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. Samohi’s only loss was at Marlborough, 69-57, on December 7. This week the Vikings will play at Beverly Hills (tonight) and will be home Friday against Culver City. Tipoff for both ganes is 6 p.m.         The St. Monica girls lost their league opener at Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 52-35. The team has a 5-7 record and the leading scorer is Alexandra Pegnato with 13 ppg. The Brentwood girls lost at home Friday, to powerful Windward, 68-51. The visitors were comfortably ahead at halftime and then put down a mild threat. Brentwood has an 8-4 record. Crossroads’ girls’ team is only 2-10 but has a 1-1 league record, following a 41-40 home loss to Scott Academy and a 41-31 victory at Archer. The New Roads girls were defeated, 66-36 at  J Serra of San Juan Capristrano. The Jaguars’ record is 7-8. In the L.A. City Section, Venice has a 2-0 Western League record with a 53-34 win at Westchester and a 59-35 rout of Fairfax last week. The Gondoliers’ overall record is 12-5. Palisades lost to University, 66-51, and is 4-6 overall. In boys’ play, Santa Monica began its Ocean League schedule with a 64-54 win at Morningside and a 58-51 home victory over Inglewood. The Vikings are 12-5 overall and will be at Culver City Friday night. St. Monica won a non-league game at Golden Valley of Santa Clarita, 78-54. New Roads lost to J Serra, 67-49 and defeated South Bay Lutheran 88-51 and Community Harvest Charter 57-54. The Jaguars are 11-5, including 1-1 in the Harbor League. Malibu lost its first two games in the Frontier League, falling to Santa Clara of Oxnard 53-30 and Santa Paula 60-39. The Sharks have a 5-11 record. In the LA City Section, Venice began Western League play against the league’s best teams. Venice played a strong game against defending state champion Westchester but lost 84-78. Venice was then less competitive against Fairfax and absorbed a 91-54 defeat. Venice will be home Friday at 7 p.m. against Hamilton. Palisades got off to a 2-0 start in the Western League by defeating Hamilton 67-56 and University 71-57. Palisades’ overall record is 9-7.