Senior point guard Eve Amram breaks defensive pressure.

Girls Basketball Cruise to Victory Against Carlmont

On Friday night, the girls basketball team took down the Carlmont Scots 52-39, officially solidifying their first-place ranking in league play.

The game started off aggressively with the Bears fouling right after tip-off, putting Carlmont’s first point on the board. Senior shooting guard Avary Sheldon quickly responded by weaving her way through the Scots’ defense for an easy layup. Senior power forward Crystal Guerra Herrera followed this up with a bucket of her own, putting the score at 4-1.

After two more fouls and a turnover on the Bears’ end due to the Scots’ intense full-court press, M-A called a timeout in hopes of slowing down the pace of the game. Despite coming out of the timeout with a bucket, the Bears continued to foul recklessly and handed Carlmont four more points, cutting the Bears’ lead to 6-5. Empty possessions and trouble on the three-point line kept the scoreline tight through the rest of the first quarter, ending with the Bears barely up 10-9.

Ben Warner / M-A Chronicle Sheldon on defense.


The second quarter started off similarly, ridden with fouls and turnovers. The Scots finally took the lead after hitting their first three-pointer of the game, putting the score at 14-12. Nevertheless, the Bears continued to play to their strengths. Using their speed to get steals and fast break buckets, paired with domination on the boards from junior center Ape Ulukivaiola, the Bears left Carlmont in the dust. A three-pointer from Herrera at the buzzer ended the half at 23-16.

The Scots kicked off the second half with a three-pointer, but the Bears quickly matched with two buckets of their own. Continuing to run Carlmont out of the gym, the Bears widened their lead to 34-18 after a fast-break bucket and jumper from Herrera. Empty possessions and unnecessary fouls filled the next minutes. The Scots failed to make a single free throw and remained scoreless until the last 50 seconds of the quarter. The Bears responded to this with a post-up bucket from Ulukivaiola and a three-pointer from junior shooting guard Luisa Tava, finishing the quarter with a score of 39-20.

“One thing we did well was our defense especially, we stepped up our game because we really wanted to win,” Ulukivaiola said. 

Ben Warner / M-A Chronicle Ulukivaiola shoots a free throw.

The Bears continued to command the court going into the final eight minutes of the game. Intense defensive pressure caused the Scots’ offense to break down and turn the ball over even more. Utilizing this, the Bears extended their lead through fast-break points. M-A sat comfortably with a 23-point lead—48-25—with four minutes remaining. The Scots finished with three more three-pointers, but their efforts came too late, handing the Bears an overwhelming 52-39 victory.

“Carlmonts strength was number 25 because she was always hitting threes, and some of their bigs were really good at posting up, which was a challenge,” Ulukivaiola said.

“I think we played a really great team game. We were able to move the ball around very well and push it down the court fast,” Sheldon said.

The girls basketball team will return to home court against the Westmoor Rams on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

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