The Cooperative girls varsity basketball stormed back from a five-point halftime deficit and defeated Cambridge 26-24 in an exceptionally well played game in the Jaguar gym Thursday.
The first quarter was as skillfully executed a segment of varsity girls basketball as this reporter has seen, with both teams clicking on both offense and defense, while committing few fouls or turnovers. It ended with Cooprative ahead by a narrow 12-10 score.
Cambridge surged in the second quarter, with the Knights outscoring a seemingly deflated Cooperative team 8-1 to take a 18-13 lead at halftime, and seemingly had the game under control.
But the girl Jaguars came out with vegeance in their eyes in the second half, disrupting the Cambridge attack with an energetic full court press, and moving the ball on offense with recovered assurance. By the end of the third quarter they had taken a 24-20 lead.
The Knights fought hard to come back in the fourth quarter, in which offensive discipline seemed to break down for both teams. Cambridge was able to close the gap to two points with two minutes to go, at which point the Jaguars attempted to freeze the ball.
However, the Knights got it back once, and Mariana Escaño was awarded two free throws with only a few seconds left. She could have tied the game, but missed both.
Jaguar junior Cecelia Aponte had the best game of her career with a total of 13 points, including a three-pointer. Carla Limpias tallied eight, Nicole Broersma and Sofia Sotelo both had two points, and Ana Paula Peredo had one.
For Cambridge, Raquel Lopez had 11 points, Maira Lino had six, Mariana Escaño five, and Vania Rueda two.
Winning by two points was a break in tradition for the Jaguars, who lost five games by two points or less last year, and had lost by that margin earlier this year to Christian Learning.
NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT! -- Eagle center Tabitha Malloy (20) keeps the ball away from Griffin Irene Fernandez (4) and three teammates. Jonatan Muñoz, International
Lady Eagles vanquish Griffins, 20-8
The Christian Learning girls varsity basketball team survived an early scare and ultimately posted a convincing 20-8 win over International in the Eagles gym Thursday.
The Griffin girls seemed to have come in with an upset in mind as they jumped off to a 7-5 lead in the first quarter, but the Eagles held them to a single point over the rest of the game while running off fifteen points for themselves.
For the Eagles, Tabitha Malloy was the top scorer with nine points. Jessica Smith added three (on a three-pointer). Rachel Moss, Kaylyn Lampen, and Ruth Nyquist had two points each. Alejandra Valencia and Erica Kienzle each had one.
For International, Maria Isabel Barrenechea had three points, Estefania Gioto and Adriana Ocampo had two each, and Camila Johnson had one.
