BASKETBALL

Good and bad: With an 11-game losing streak and a 3-17 record, the Buena boys’ basketball team could be headed toward its worst season of the decade, but Coach Glen Hannah, in his 16th season, has seen positive signs in the Bulldogs’ last two games.

Although Buena lost to Hueneme, 67-65, last Wednesday, and to Channel League leader Dos Pueblos, 80-75, on Friday, the Bulldogs led both games after three quarters.

“We played a lot better in the last two games,” Hannah said. “We shot a lot better than we had been. . . .

“I wasn’t sure how the guys would react after [a 71-44 loss to San Marcos]. We just got shelled at San Marcos, but they’ve played hard since then.”

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Caught with guard down: Last season, Quartz Hill posted a 16-4 girls’ basketball record thanks in part to Kenya Corley and Tiffany Coke, two senior guards who transferred from Golden League rival Antelope Valley.

This season, Quartz Hill is losing backcourt players to other schools.

Junior Melissa Rawson, most valuable player for the Rebels at the freshman and junior varsity levels, transferred to Highland, where she is focusing on softball and volleyball.

Junior Kim Moore has transferred to Lancaster, where she starts for the Eagles.

“We certainly could use them this season,” said Quartz Hill Coach Steve Lankford, whose team is 4-12, 2-3 in league play.

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Elbow room: High school coaches often are jacks-of-all-trades by necessity and Oak Park boys’ basketball Coach Rob Hall is no exception.

On Jan. 16, the Eagles played at Tri-Valley League rival Bishop Diego and lost starter Jeff Smith to a dislocated shoulder in the first quarter.

Then Oak Park lost to the Cardinals, only its second setback in 33 league games.

Things got worse as Hall gave an impassioned postgame speech to his team in the locker room. An Eagle supporter stuck his head into the room and told Hall that the coach’s daughter had “pulled her arm out of her socket.”

In reality, Summer Hall, 2, suffers from a tendency toward a dislocated joint known as “nursemaid’s elbow” and with a simple twist, her father reduced her injury.

“It’s the third time it’s happened and the first time we sat in the emergency room for an hour and a half and the doctor fixed it in less than 10 seconds,” Hall said.

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More Oak Park: Hall said Smith, the basketball team’s top defensive player and a standout pitcher, is out for the basketball season because of his shoulder injury.

“The doctor believes that somewhere sometime, it’s going to pop out again,” Hall said. “He wants to avoid surgery now and see if Jeff can get through the baseball season.”

The injured shoulder is not used by Smith to throw.