The girls basketball team secured a decisive victory over the Sacred Heart Gators in a high-energy matchup on Friday afternoon, pulling away for a 63-51 win.
Sacred Heart won the opening tip, but senior forward Lita Fakapelea quickly set the tone for M-A by finishing a strong layup to put the Bears on the board. The Gators answered with a bucket of their own and added on a midrange jump shot that forced M-A to call an early timeout.
Senior point guard Molly Gray attempted a three-pointer out of the break, and senior center Apé Ulukivaiola battled inside the paint for a rebound and a put-back to tie the score. Freshman guard Bella Gormsen then made a slick move in the paint and finished through contact, giving M-A a 6-4 lead with three minutes left in the quarter.
Freshman power forward Natalie Roman added an and-one after being fouled on a layup, but the Gators were quick to respond with a midrange jumper. Ulukivaiola continued to dominate the boards, grabbing another rebound and laying it in. Sacred Heart refused to stay down though, and they followed up yet again by knocking down a three of their own. Junior guard Alexa Djafari* answered immediately, draining a three-pointer to close the quarter with the Bears holding a narrow 15-13 lead.
The second quarter opened with Gray coming up with a huge rebound and kicking it out to Djafari, who buried another three. Gormsen followed with a pull-up jumper in the lane before the Gators responded from midrange. Sacred Heart called a timeout with 5:35 remaining as M-A held a 20-15 advantage.
The Bears kept the pressure on as Gormsen drew a foul and split her free throws, and Fakapelea drove hard to the rim for another layup, making the score 23-15. Djafari stayed red-hot, draining yet another three-pointer, her third of the night, which forced Sacred Heart to burn another timeout as M-A extended the lead to 26-15.
“We had really good team chemistry,” Roman said. “Our shooters knocked down big shots, like Alexa had five threes, and we offensive rebounded really well, especially Apé.”
Though the Gators answered with a three, Djafari responded by swiftly knocking down back-to-back triples to move to a perfect 5 for 5 from beyond the arc. A strong pass from Roman then led to a smooth reverse layup by Fakapelea, and junior guard Isabelle Habibi cleaned up a missed three with a put-back. M-A closed the half with a commanding 36-26 lead.
The Bears carried that momentum into the second half. Gray came up with a huge block that led to a transition layup from Ulukivaiola, who followed with back-to-back finishes inside. Even so, Sacred Heart was able to regain some of their lost momentum with a three-pointer, prompting another M-A timeout.
“I think our team did a really great job shutting down their two best players,” Habibi said. “That was something we knew we would have to do to win the game, and we executed it just like we planned.”
Despite an unsuccessful inbound play and a Sacred Heart three-pointer, the Bears continued to remain strong thanks to a clutch three from Gormsen at the 3:30 mark. A Sacred Heart transition layup cut the deficit to 45-37, but Ulukivaiola responded once again with a bucket inside the paint. Fakapelea drew a foul, and Gray took a charge on the defensive end to halt Sacred Heart’s push. To finish things off, Roman capped the quarter with an and-one, converting the free throw to give M-A a 51-38 lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Ulukivaiola continued her dominant performance with an and-one to push the score to 54-38. Gray followed up by drawing a foul and calmly knocking down a free throw, but Sacred Heart refused to be left behind, and a crafty spin move into a jumper forced M-A to regroup during a timeout.
After a brief scoring drought, Fakapelea once again cleaned up a missed shot with a strong put-back, showcasing her dominance in the paint. Ulukivaiola added another bucket before finding sophomore center Mary Tava cutting to the hoop for an easy layup. Despite a late three-pointer from Sacred Heart, Tava rebounded a miss and put it back up to extend the Bears’ lead to 63-47.
Sacred Heart added one final three as well as a free throw in the closing moments, but the Bears maintained control and closed out the game with a 63-51 win.
“I think we were good at scoring, especially in the paint because of our bigs getting rebounds,” Gormsen said. “I think we need to improve on our turnovers and getting defensive rebounds.”
“Going into Menlo from the high today, we need to remember to be humble,” Habibi said. “We’re treating it as any other worthy opponent, while also knowing the Menlo Park title is on the line.”
The Bears will face off against the San Leandro Pirates away on Saturday at 3:15 p.m.
*Alexa Djafari is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
