Eagles edge Jaguars in overtime
By Trevor Reed
Christian Learning Center
Once again, the Christian Learning girls varsity basketball team defeated the Jaguars, but this time in a much closer game.
Both teams started out well on offense Thursday afternoon, this time in a game played at the Eagles' gym. The Eagles got a slight lead as the half ended 11-10. But, in a way, the halftime score was ominous. Christial Learning had led 11-2 in the first game the teams played, and had then been able to coast to victory despite a modest Jaguar rally in the second half, eventually winning 22-15.
In the third quarter the game got very tense for large crowd of Christian Learning fans as the the Jaguars pulled ahead to a five-point lead. But at the start of the fourth quarter, the Eagles cut the Jaguars' lead down to two oor three points.
The most exciting part of the game was the final minute where the Jaguars were ahead by three. A free throw by Sabrina Hallock brought the Eagles within two, but there was now less than a minute left and two points to go. And the Jaguars had the ball, which they were able to bring down court.
However,a Jaguar pass went out of bounds and the Eagles were allotted one last chance. With five second left the ball was passed to the capable hands of Eagle Anne Marie Hawthorne. She launched a shot that hit the rim, bounced high, and then, as the crowd went wild, dropped through the hoop, making the score 21-21 as the buzzer sounded.
The spirits of the Eagle partisans continued to soar in the overtime, as the Eagles scored four points to the Jaguars two. However, there would be another scary ending. As in the junior varsity girls game between the same two schools Tuesday, a foul was called on Christian Learning in the closing seconds, and a Jaguar player had a chance to tie the game after time had expired.
Happily for the Eagle adherents, and sadly for the Jaguar fans, she missed both shots
The Lady Eagles have now won their third victory of the season without a defeat, and appear to be in the driver's seat as the season goes into its second half following the Easter break. Still, anything could happen. Christian Learning has not yet faced Cambridge, the defending champions, and has another game with International, which has demonstrated that it can play the role of a spoiler.
But Cooperative will not get another shot at Christian Learning until the playoffs.
Eagle Sabrina Hallock led all scorers with 14 points. Hawthorne had seven in total. Roxy Jien and Kaylyn Lampen had two points each.
For Cooperative, Cecelia Aponte had seven points, and Carla Limpias six, followeed by Ana Paola Peredo with 4, Sofia Sotelo 3, Hailey White 2, and Carolina Crespo 1.
FREE FOR ALL -- The action was fast and furious in the Griffins upset win over the Lady Knights. Jonatan Muñoz, International
International 25, Cambridge 14
Griffins shock undefeated Knights
Juan Manuel Salas
Cambridge College
The International girls varsity basketball team evened its season record at 2-2, and revenged an earlier loss this year as it defeated previously unbeaten Cambridge, 25-14, in a very intense game played in their home gym Thursday.
The Lady Knights, who had won the previous meeting between the two teams 10-7, were beaten, and beaten badly, much to their surprise.
Cambridge started well enough, and the score was 4-3 at the end of the first quarter in favor of the Knights. However, in the second quarter the Knights seemed to practically give up. Decisions by the referees that went against them seemed to dismay the Knights, who became increasingly disorganized -- seemingly oblivious to what was happening to them.
Meanwhile, Griffin star Daniela Zelada, who had started the game playing very tentatively, became more assertive. Her own shots began to fall in and she showed incredible passing skills, getting the ball to teammates Stephanie Giotto and Melissa Roca. The Griffins scored 12 points in the quarter, one of the highest quarterly outputs by any team this year.
The tide swung in favor of the Griffins, and they led 15-6 at the end of the half. International continued to outplay the Knights in the second half, though by a narrower margin. The Griffins lead 19-11 at the end of the third quarter, and 25-14 at the end of the game.
The Knights were somewhat handicapped in that Lucia Candia, who normally has the task of guarding Zelada, wasn't at the game. Cambridge star Raquel Lopez had a tough afternoon, due perhaps in part to a stomach problem, and scored only three points.
Zelada led all scorers with 10 points. Melissa Roca added seven for the Griffins, Stephanie Gioto 4, and Natalia Suarez 2.There was a dispute over the individual scoring totals for the Knights that has not yet been resolved. Besides Lopez, it is believed that Karen Aliaga, Maira Lino, Mariana Escaño, Vania Rueda, and Camila Johnson scored points.
