SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020:: LATIMES.COM/SPORTS

D

This past

weekend, I

attended

three crowded

basketball

games in

downtown

Los Angeles.

Thou-

sands of fans

roared themselves hoarse

as the Lakers clawed to

their two biggest wins of the

year while USC beat UCLA

on a three at the buzzer.

It was exhilarating. It

was terrifying.

Huge crowds moved in

tight packs through the

concourses of Staples Cen-

ter and the Galen Center,

bumping and brushing and

connecting. Long lines

hurried through restrooms

where no surface went

untouched. Food was

passed and shared from

concession lines to condi-

ment stations.

In moving through the

various mobs on my way to

press row, amid the excite-

ment of the moment, I

shook hands without think-

ing, patted shoulders with-

out looking, and literally

bumped heads with at least

one poor soul who stopped

suddenly in front of me.

Amid the quickening

spread of the coronavirus,

what should have been an

ideal atmosphere suddenly

felt like a deadly one, and it’s

clearly time for sports offi-

cials to put down their greed

and take up the fight.

Lock it out. Shut it out.

Empty the crammed

Close your

doors. Save

us all. Please

BILL PLASCHKE

TEAMSplay a Champions League match in Spain in

an empty stadium because of the coronavirus spread.

Associated Press

[SeePlaschke,D6]

Coachella,” Mathews said

Monday, “it’s not that seri-

ous.”

On Tuesday, the Coa-

chella Valley Music and Arts

Festival was postponed un-

til October.

It’s serious.

Also on Tuesday, UCLA

announced that all home

athletics events would be

limited to essential person-

nel until April 10, or until fur-

ther notice, and USC an-

nounced that it would limit

home sporting events to

only essential personnel un-

til March 29.

Pac-12 officials, never-

As he pondered rapidly

growing coronavirus fears

on the eve of the Pac-12 Con-

ference men’s basketball

tournament, USC guard

Jonah Mathews considered

the fate of a massive concert

scheduled for next month as

instructive.

“If they haven’t canceled [SeeCOVID-19,D6]

Show will go on

for the Pac-12

As teams and other

conferences bar fans,

tournament will take

place in Las Vegas.

staff and wire reports

COVID-19 IN SPORTS

With the sun descending behind

the nearby Verdugo Mountains,

painting a pink February hue over lus-

cious green, another night of basket-

ball is set to begin on the hilly campus

of Glendale College.

“Welcome to historic Verdugo

Gym!” the public-address announcer

says. “These are your Lady Va-

queros!”

The enthusiasm for the Lady Vaqs

has blossomed in recent years, reach-

ing full bloom this season thanks to a

touch of intrigue no one could have

predicted for a community college

women’s basketball program that has

no championship banners. The fresh

fervor comes partly because they’re

winning lots of games, and partly due

to the novelty factor attached to one

of the team’s starting guards.

“They always walk in and go,

‘Which one is it?’ ” says Glendale ath-

letic director Chris Cicuto. “They’ve

heard the rumors, and they’ve got to

see it with their own eyes.”

So, which one is it?

“At guard, a 5-3 freshman out of

Glendale High,

VICKY OGANYAN FITright in with the rest of her Glendale College teammates, even though she was
twice as old. “I always feel so much more secure when she’s on the floor,” one other player said.

Photographs byBrian van der BrugLos Angeles Times

Jumping through hoops

Despite becoming a high school coach, Vicky Oganyan

always wanted to play college ball. At 40, she does both

OGANYAN IS PASSIONATEas coach of the Burbank Burroughs
girls’ team, which reached the state playoffs for the first time. [SeeOganyan,D3]

By J. Brady McCollough

A letdown was likely after

the Lakers got through an

intense weekend with wins

against two of the best

teams in the NBA.

Still, the Lakers fought

back from a late deficit to

give themselves a chance.

Ultimately, it was not

enough. A last-second three-

pointer by Anthony Davis

didn’t fall, and the Lakers

lost to the Nets 104-102 on

Tuesday at Staples Center.

“Anthony just made two

threes,” Lakers coach Frank

Vogel said. “Thought we had

the game won.”

LeBron James led the

Lakers with 29 points, 12 re-

bounds and nine assists,

KYLE KUZMAand the Lakers, coming off two big wins over title contenders last making 12 of 22 shots, but

weekend, ran into an unexpectedly tough challenge from a sub-.500 Nets team.

Luis SincoLos Angeles Times

Lakers’

letdown

as worse

looms

BROOKLYN 104

LAKERS 102

By Tania Ganguli

SAN FRANCISCO —
The spectators who filled
nearly every courtside seat
Tuesday night in Chase Cen-
ter watched opposing play-
ers slice nearly unimpeded
to the rim, and the young,
brittle Warriors lose a
league-high 26th home
game.
In some ways this night, a

131-107 Clippers beatdown,

felt like any other here this

season.

But around and above

the action at court level, it

was obvious this was any-

thing but, as the reach of the

novel coronavirus continued

to leave its mark on the Bay

Area, a hot spot for

COVID-19, and American

sports at large.

Thousands of black T-

shirts draped over the are-

na’s seats as part of a give-

away sat unclaimed amid a

crowd that was announced

as a sellout but, in reality,

was far more sparse. For the

first time, locker rooms were

open only to team employ-

ees deemed essential, by

NBA decree. Golden State

[SeeClippers,D4]

For Clippers, it’s

not a routine win

Coronavirus and/or

mismatch appear to

keep spectators from

witnessing L.A. rout.

CLIPPERS 131
GOLDEN STATE 107

By Andrew Greif

Probe finds no

smoking gun

Report says that 21 of

23 Santa Anita horse

fatalities investigated

were tied to preexisting

conditions. D2

Sierra Canyon in

state title game

Williams makes a shot

at the buzzer to

complete a 13-0 run

over the final minutes

against Etiwanda. D3

[SeeLakers,D4]