By Jesse Mann
The JV girl
Eagles demolished their final opponents in their home gym on Monday to claim a
championship trophy and complete a perfect season. Urged on by an enthusiastic
crowd that packed the stands, the Eagles fought the Jaguars fiercely for ball
possession and managed to take advantage of many scoring opportunities beneath
the Cooperative net. Ironically, the Jaguars appeared quite confident before
the golden game, perhaps never dreaming that the Eagles would keep them
scoreless for the entire first half.
Led by Rebecca
Escudero and Maria Anderson, the Eagles dominated the scoreboard during the
first half, creating a 17 – 0 lead that owed its existence to relentless Eagle
offensive efforts and terrible shooting accuracy by the Jaguars. The smiles
worn by the Cooperative girls before the game quickly turned to frowns of
frustration as the Eagles steadily increased their lead. Despite an impressive
basket by Isabella Peña at the start of the third quarter, the Jaguars could
not stop the Eagle onslaught. Again and again they would recklessly wrestle the
ball into the Eagle key, only to throw it uselessly into the air. After Peña's
basket, the Jaguars managed to score only twice more in the game. The Eagles,
on the other hand, kept bypassing the Cooperative defense and confidently
depositing the ball in the hoop. By the time the final whistle blew, the
Jaguars were more than ready to admit defeat.
The SCCLC home
crowd cheered lustily as the Eagles ecstatically hoisted their trophy,
concluding a nearly flawless season. In eight games, the JV girls had never let
a team score more than eight points against them, and they in turn had never
scored less then twenty. A long-time Eagles fan noted before the game:
"This is the most dominant girl JV team I've seen in my five years as a
fan in this league." And dominate the Eagles did, defeating the Jaguars 41
– 6.
Griffins Defeat Knights 20-2, Finish 3rd
By David Boldt
The International JV girls won the
playoff consolation game and bragging rights to third place in the League by
defeating Cambridge for the third time this season, 20-2 at Christian
learning’s gym Monday afternoon.
The game was never close as the Griffins
took command right from the opening jump ball, running up an 11-2 lead in the
first quarter and more or less coasting in from there. The Little Knights got
their lone basket in the first quarter, avoiding a shutout, but were held
scoreless for the rest of the game.
The core of the Griffin team was a quintet
of skilled seventh graders who have all had a lot of playing time on the
varsity this season – Maria Eugenia Zelada, Olivia Navarro, Camila Barrientos,
Pamela Hernandez and Manuela Reyes. The fought hard for every loose ball, and
rarely gave the Cambridge players the chance to take aim before shooting.
Zelada was the high scorer for the
Griffins with seven points, and right behind her was Navarro, who posted six,
and impressed the spectators with her rapid and agile dribbling, going as
easily to her right as to her left, often leaving defenders in the dust.
Barrientos, who like Navarro made up in
speed and maneuverability for her lack of height, had three points, while
Hernandez and Reyes had two points each.
Ariana Vidal tallied Cambridge’s only
basket.
