The girls basketball team delivered a dominant performance against the San Mateo Bearcats on Wednesday evening to pull out a 49-29 win.
M-A wasted no time asserting themselves defensively, with sophomore center Mary Tava opening the game with a steal. The Bears forced early turnovers and applied intense pressure, and senior center Apé Ulukivaiola used a strong pump fake to finish a layup at the 5:14 mark to put the Bears on the board. Soon after, M. Tava followed with an offensive rebound and putback to help M-A jump out to a 4-0 lead.
Senior guard Luisa Tava knocked down a three-pointer with 4:10 remaining in the quarter, prompting San Mateo to call an early timeout. The Bears continued to thrive defensively, running a press that led to a steal by L. Tava and multiple turnovers by the Bearcats. An inbounds play led directly to a layup by M. Tava, and senior forward Lita Fakapelea drove hard in the paint for another bucket to give the Bears an 11-2 advantage with just over a minute remaining. A well-timed pass from freshman guard Bella Gormsen to M. Tava capped off the quarter as the Bears held a commanding lead of 13-2.
The second quarter saw more of the same dominance from M-A. Freshman power forward Natalie Roman drew a foul early but was unable to convert at the line. Moments later, Roman drove through traffic to lay it in at the five minute mark, and following closely was Fakapelea, who drew contact on a drive and sank both her free throws. This run extended the lead to 17-2, forcing yet another San Mateo timeout.
Defensive pressure continued to rattle the Bearcats, who committed multiple travels as M-A trapped aggressively during the press. These turnovers created numerous offensive possessions, giving L. Tava the chance to slice through the defense for a layup, and Roman to clean up a miss with a strong rebound and putback. On a roll, Roman followed with a smooth move to the basket for another layup, pushing the score to 23-3. To close the half, senior point guard Molly Gray nailed a three-pointer, sending the Bears into the break with complete control, leading 29-4.
“In the first half, we played really good defense and shut them down,” Roman said. “They only had four points, so we were able to build a big lead from that.”
M-A didn’t let up and carried their momentum into the third quarter. Fakapelea opened the half by knocking down a three-pointer, and after a San Mateo jumper, she answered again with an agile step-through layup. L. Tava drained another three at the 4:14 mark to make it 36-9, and despite a brief San Mateo response inside, the Bears stayed composed. L. Tava drew a foul and converted both free throws, Roman added one of two from the line, and Gray chipped in a free throw of her own as M-A wrapped up the third quarter ahead 40-13.
In the final quarter, L. Tava buried yet another three-pointer to extend the lead. M. Tava attacked the basket, drawing an and-one opportunity, and later managed a huge block, stifling the Bearcats’ offense. San Mateo found some rhythm late, scoring from the line and on a jumper, but Roman quickly answered with a rebound and a putback to raise the total to 47-17. After a brief M-A timeout, the Bears continued to move the ball efficiently, with junior guard Isabelle Habibi finding M. Tava for an easy layup. San Mateo scored a few late buckets, but M-A put the game away with a final score of 49-29.
“We came out super strong in the first quarter,” L. Tava said. “We definitely set the tone early, and that made a big difference.”
“Our ball movement today was pretty good,” M. Tava said. “For Carlmont, we just need to bring the energy and be ready for their student section. We’re focused on playing our game.”
The Bears will travel to face the Carlmont Scots on Friday evening at 6:15 p.m.
