M-A lost 53-38 to the Menlo Knights at home on Saturday night.
The Knights won the tip-off but the Bears quickly responded with an early bucket. The Knights followed with multiple deep three-pointers and quick ball movement, limiting M-A’s offense and putting the Bears down 8-4 halfway through the first quarter.
Sophomore Isabelle Habibi hit a clutch three-pointer, shrinking the Knights’ lead to 10-7 with 3:55 remaining, but the Bears still struggled to keep momentum. Back-to-back three-pointers from the Knights put M-A behind 22-9 with a minute remaining in the first quarter.
Menlo’s strong offense continued to challenge the Bears’ defense. “It was only the beginning of the game, and we just had to lock in defensively,” junior Luisa Tava said.
The Bears tightened up their defense to slow Menlo down. Habibi was able to nail another three-pointer, closing out the first quarter with M-A trailing 22-12.
The Bears started the second quarter with newfound determination, using more aggressive defense to force turnovers. Senior Eve Amram capitalized on a fast-break layup and Habibi sank in another three-pointer, allowing the Bears to chip away at the deficit, bringing the score to 25-19.
The Knights’ initially impenetrable offense began to wear out in the second quarter, while M-A continued to extend their run. Senior Crystal Guerra Herrera contributed with a bucket, and Amram made a three-pointer, making it a one-point game, 25-24, going into the second half.
The third quarter got off to a slow start, with both teams unable to execute on possessions. However, a Menlo three-pointer woke the Bears up and gave them some energy. Habibi dished out an assist to junior Molly Gray, who finished with a perfect layup.
The Bears maintained their momentum to keep the game within grasp, and were down 29-28 with 3:55 left in the third. Unfazed, Menlo was able to salvage their intensity from the first quarter, and made multiple unanswered three-pointers. This brought the score to 36-28 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Menlo continued to keep the pressure on, adding a strong drive for a layup followed by another three-pointer, extending their lead to 43-31 as they headed into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the game continued to slip away from the Bears. Despite numerous possessions, M-A missed many crucial shots, including a close shot from Amram, which allowed Menlo to increase their lead.
With 3:49 left to go and M-A down 53-36, the Bears called a timeout in a last-ditch effort to regain control of the game. Herrera responded with a layup, but from then on, neither team could add more points on the board. The game concluded with a 53-38 defeat.
“I thought we played really hard, even though it wasn’t the outcome we wanted,” senior Sara Djafari said. “We were getting good looks and our shots just weren’t falling.”
“Next game, we could definitely work on our shooting and pushing through that last final stretch of the game to tie it up,” Habibi said.
The Bears will face the Hollister Haybalers on Friday at 12:00 p.m.
