By Adriana Guzman
It was a tough and exciting game in which you could see the great effort each and every single player put into the game, as the Jaguars finally achieved a one- basket win, 15-13, over International.
The game started slowly in terms of scoring. At the end of the first quarter the Jaguars were ahead 2-1. Both defenses were playing bravely, and there were many mistakes by both teams.
In the second quarter you could see that both teams were really fighting for the win. It was amazing how the score went back and forth. At first the Griffins were losing by 5 points, then with the help of amazing play by seventh graders Maria Zelada and Olivia Navarro International caught up and went ahead by one point, 7-6, at the end of the half. Pamela Hernandez and Camila Barrientos played aggressively on defense for the Griffins.
For the Jaguars, Isabela Peña and Giuliana Varalta were the outstanding players, each scoring a basket in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Griffin Zelada played really well, scoring twice as the Griffins moved out to an 11-8 lead.
The Griffins at this point felt pretty confident, but the Jaguars weren’t going to let the Griffins take the game so easily.
Andrea Chavez made two foul shots, and Peña one at the beginning of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 11-11, showing how closely matched the two teams were. (Chavez actually got six tries from the free throw line, in two sets of three because she was fouled twice while trying to make three-point shots.)
But Navarro scored to put the Griffins in back front 13-11, and International kept the lead for several minutes as the ball went up and down the court, with both teams coming close, but not quite able to get the ball in the hoop.
With four minutes to go Jaguar Nathalia Media hit on a short jumper from the right-hand side to tie the game at 13 all. The Jaguars dominated play at this stage but couldn’t score until, with just a minute and a half left to play, Chavez connected to put the Jaguars ahead.
The Griffins, now desperate, forced play into the Jaguar end and had at least a dozen shots in the final 90 seconds, but couldn’t get any of them to drop in. The result was a hard fought 15-13 victory for the Jaguars, who will now play Christian Learning in the championship game. International will play Cambridge in the consolation game.
For the Jaguars, Medina and Chavez had four points each, Peña had three, and both Naira Rodriguez and Varalta had two points.
For International, Zelada had seven, Navarro four, and Barrientos two.
(Adriana Guzman is a junior at Cambridge College and a staff writer for the website.)
Eagles Fly Past Knights 59-4
The SCCLC JV girls basketball team moved one step closer to a perfect season with an impressive 59-4 win over the Cambridge Knights on Tuesday. Although the Eagles were missing star player Rebecca Escudero, they still managed to outscore their opponents by a staggering 55 points. With this win, the Eagles will now face the Cooperative Jaguars in the championship game, while the Knights will battle the Griffins for third place.
Although this game ended as a blowout, it started off as a relatively close race. The Eagles struggled to score in the opening minutes, and were tied 2-2 with the Knights well into the first quarter. There seemed to be a lot of shooting from the Eagles, but not much in terms of actual scoring. Finally, the Eagles found their groove and shot past the Knights to end the quarter with a 10-2 lead. The Eagles carried this momentum into the second quarter, scoring an additional 19 points to end the half at 29-2.
In the second half, the Knights really had no chance as the Eagles pressured them with a full court press. The points kept adding up for the home team, and the Knights appeared to have (understandably) lost all hope of a comeback. The Knights did manage to score an additional basket, and the third quarter finished with the score at 45-4.
As the final quarter began, most fans assumed the Eagles would be merciful to their opponents and ease up on the pressure, but the Eagles had no intention of doing so. Despite having multiple players in serious foul trouble, the Eagles continued their full court press, holding the Knights scoreless once more for the quarter. Miraculously, none of the Eagles fouled out, and the final score stood at 59-4, sending the Eagles to the championship.
Although this game ended as a blowout, it started off as a relatively close race. The Eagles struggled to score in the opening minutes, and were tied 2-2 with the Knights well into the first quarter. There seemed to be a lot of shooting from the Eagles, but not much in terms of actual scoring. Finally, the Eagles found their groove and shot past the Knights to end the quarter with a 10-2 lead. The Eagles carried this momentum into the second quarter, scoring an additional 19 points to end the half at 29-2.
In the second half, the Knights really had no chance as the Eagles pressured them with a full court press. The points kept adding up for the home team, and the Knights appeared to have (understandably) lost all hope of a comeback. The Knights did manage to score an additional basket, and the third quarter finished with the score at 45-4.
As the final quarter began, most fans assumed the Eagles would be merciful to their opponents and ease up on the pressure, but the Eagles had no intention of doing so. Despite having multiple players in serious foul trouble, the Eagles continued their full court press, holding the Knights scoreless once more for the quarter. Miraculously, none of the Eagles fouled out, and the final score stood at 59-4, sending the Eagles to the championship.
