The girls basketball team delivered a dominant performance against the Hillsdale Knights on Wednesday night, cruising to a 54-30 win that marked Head Coach Steve Yob’s 100th career win with the Bears.
Hillsdale won the opening tip, but M-A struck first. Senior guard Molly Gray opened the Bears’ offense by passing the ball to senior center Apé Ulukivaiola, who successfully nailed a shot to put M-A’s first points on the board. Senior guard Luisa Tava attempted a three-pointer shortly after but just missed, transitioning the Bears into defense.
Gray anchored the defensive end early, taking a charge on Hillsdale. However, M-A struggled to convert offensively, as Hillsdale’s defense forced a shot clock violation with six minutes left in the quarter and M-A leading 2-0.
After the Bears’ defense forced yet another turnover by the Knights, Gray finished a layup off a pass from sophomore center Mary Tava. Hillsdale responded with their first points of the game to make it 6–2 with four minutes left, but M-A answered again on the next possession with another finish by M. Tava to stretch the Bears’ lead back to six.
Fakapelea was a beast on the boards, securing rebound after rebound to extend the Bears’ offensive possessions. Ulukivaiola then went on to score at the 2:31 mark to push M-A’s lead to 10-2.
A defender fouled Gray and she went to the free-throw line, missing her first attempt but converting the second to make it 11-2. Defensively, Gray continued her suffocating ball pressure, forcing a Hillsdale travel. Even so, the Knights were able to get a basket through the Bears’ defense, but L. Tava answered in the final seconds with a basket to close the quarter with M-A ahead, 13-4.
The second quarter opened with M-A maintaining strong defensive pressure, forcing Hillsdale to receive an out of bounds turnover. M. Tava committed an early foul, but the Bears continued to disrupt the Knights’ offense. Junior guard Isabelle Habibi pushed the pace, while Ulukivaiola scored an uncontested layup.
Freshman guard Bella Gormsen made a free throw, extending the lead to 14-4, and Ulukivaiola scored again with 6:19 on the clock, making it 16-4. Hillsdale cut the lead to 16-7 with free throws, but Ulukivaiola bounced right back and converted two free throws of her own to push the lead to 20-8.
Looking to extend the lead, Gray and Gormsen tried to drive to the hoop but were stopped, while Ulukivaiola added another basket at the three-minute mark, 22-9. Strong defense from L. Tava forced a Hillsdale travel, but back on the offensive end M-A struggled, prompting the Bears to call a timeout with 1:58 remaining.
“Everyone hustled really well, and we would always respond if they scored. We’d respond with more, and we brought lots of intensity,” Roman said.
With a minute remaining, Gormsen made a jumper to extend the lead to 24-9. L. Tava blocked a shot, and sophomore forward Gracie Bullard* battled inside the paint. Hillsdale scored once more before halftime, leaving M-A ahead 24-11 through their offensive patience and defensive dominance.
The third quarter saw the Bears continue to dominate. Striking first was Ulukivaiola, who went to the free-throw line and made one of two attempts before stealing the ball and driving solo for a layup.
M. Tava later launched a long pass to Gormsen, who ran to the hoop and scored with 4:09 remaining in the quarter. Gray blocked a Hillsdale attempt and grabbed the rebound, passing to Gormsen, whose shot missed.
Fakapelea received the ball from Gray and scored a layup at 2:52. On just the very next possession, Fakapelea followed up by drawing a foul and making one of two free throws, which would lead M-A into a timeout.
Coming out of the break, Fakapelea grabbed a rebound and passed to Gormsen, who then found M. Tava for a bucket. With just four seconds remaining, M. Tava drove down the court and made a layup, ending the quarter with M-A ahead 38–16.
The fourth quarter began with M-A still in full control. A finish from Bullard inside the paint pushed M-A’s lead even further. Gray then found Gormsen for a shot, extending the Bears’ advantage to 40-16.
A quick three-pointer from Habibi, followed by a bucket by M. Tava, prompted a Hillsdale timeout with four minutes left on the clock. When play resumed, the Bears made sure not to let up on offense, continuing to rack up points on layups and free throws.
M-A’s defense remained unshakable by applying immense pressure on Hillsdale. This left the Knights flustered and forced them to take contested shots, halting their chances of making a comeback.
More points from Ulukivaiola and Habibi would close out the game with a final score of 54-30, securing Head Coach Steve Yob’s 100th career win.
“The energy was there, and it was just good being a part of it,” M. Tava said.
The Bears will face off against the Aragon Dons next Wednesday away at 6 p.m.
*Alexa Djafari and Gracie Bullard are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
