The Bears scraped out a win against the Hillsdale Knights 48-46 in their senior night game on Friday evening. Family and friends walked each of the five seniors through an aisle of dance and cheer team members before the game began.
Both teams traded fouls to open the game, allowing the Knights to score a three-pointer off the foul to take the early lead. Senior power forward Crystal Guerra Herrera responded with her own three-pointer, tying the game 3-3.
As the quarter progressed, the Bears began to struggle against Hillsdale’s tough defense. They failed to respond after the Knights scored two quick buckets and a free throw, ending the quarter behind 10-5.
The second quarter started off like the first, with the Knights holding the momentum and hitting a three-pointer to open the quarter. The Bears continued to have difficulties with turnovers and shooting from the three-point line. With under four minutes left in the first half, M-A was down 16-8.
The Bears quickly turned the game around when Guerra Herrera stole the ball, passing it to junior small forward Molly Gray for a quick layup. Another forced turnover and score from Gray allowed M-A to close in on the Knights’ 16-13 lead, prompting a timeout from Hillsdale. M-A kept up the pressure when play resumed, continuing to force turnovers and get to the foul line. A last-minute three-pointer by senior point guard Eve Amram gave the Bears the lead at halftime 24-22.
“The first quarter was a little rough, but Molly went and gave us a push, then we went on a little run. Defense went into offense, and I think it was beautiful,” Amram said.
M-A widened their lead at the start of the second half with two quick buckets. Guerra Herrera sank another three-pointer to make the score 31-25. Hillsdale responded with two three-pointers of their own, reducing the deficit and causing the Bears to take a timeout with two minutes left in the quarter. Both teams were slow on offense after the timeout, and the Bears ended the third quarter up 34-32.
Back-and-forth layups between Hillsdale and M-A senior power forward EB Hoffman tied the game 36-36 with five minutes left. But Hillsdale’s defense began to fall apart as the Bears scored three more layups and a three-pointer by Amram, building a nine-point lead.
With two minutes to go in the game, Hillsdale began to press and foul to stop the clock. Free throws from both teams dragged out the game’s remaining minutes. The Bears weren’t clinical from the line, letting their lead slip to seven points with 14 seconds left. The Knights made a jumper and buzzer-beater three-pointer, but it was too late, the Bears secured the victory 48-46.
“Our game plan was to have fun, to win, and to come out strong and just play our hardest,” junior shooting guard Luisa Tava said.
“This was a big game for us because it’s one of the best teams in the league and we’re closing in on the end of the season,” senior shooting guard Sara Djafari said.
“I’m going to miss the seniors so much. I love them so much. I almost cried in the locker room—that’s how much I’m going to miss them,” Tava said.
“I just love the team with my whole heart. All four years have been incredible, and it would be really fun to run it back as league champions. Every moment I get to spend with my teammates on and off the court has been so special,” Djafari said.
The Bears will take on the Aragon Dons at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
