The girls basketball team secured the win, 51-32, against the Los Gatos Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. After a dominant performance, the Bears were crowned CCS champions.
The game opened with senior center Apé Ulukivaiola winning the tip-off to gain the first possession. Senior point guard Molly Gray immediately established the tempo, moving the ball around to find senior power forward Lita Fakapelea, who capitalized on a gap in the defense, sinking a three-pointer to give M-A a quick 3-0 lead.
A strong drive by senior shooting guard Luisa Tava and an offensive rebound by sophomore center Mary Tava opened a window for Gray, who successfully connected on a three.
Shortly after, M-A was unable to successfully make a series of shots. Los Gatos took advantage of this dry spell, hitting two three-pointers to tie the game 6-6 with five minutes left in the quarter.
The intensity remained high as Fakapelea and Ulukivaiola fought for control in the paint, pushing through defenders and creating numerous openings. M-A’s defense continued to battle, and in spite of the Bears’ pressure, the Wildcats were able to get a layup and a three-pointer, leaving M-A trailing 11-6.
Fakapelea found an answer to their deficit, pushing through the defense for a smooth layup. Despite the late effort, Los Gatos was able to swish one more three-pointer to end the first quarter with M-A down 14-8.
The Bears started the second quarter off with a defensive masterclass, immediately forcing the Wildcats into clumsy turnovers. Using this momentum, freshman small forward Bella Gormsen sparked the comeback, finding an opening to sink a clean swish. Soon after, Gray followed up by pushing through a pair of defenders to drive into a shot, drawing a foul and knocking down two free throws to cut their deficit down to 14-13.
Staying relentless, Fakapelea recorded an incredible block, jumping up to swat away a Wildcats shot attempt. Following a Los Gatos three-pointer, M-A called a timeout to regroup with 5:30 left in the quarter.
Shortly after, the momentum shifted noticeably as L. Tava found space to drain a three, leaving the Bears just two points behind, 17-15. Moments later, Roman was fouled during an attempt to push through defenders and got two free throws, converting on both to tie the game.
In the final three minutes of the half, the Bears completely took over. Fakapelea started things off with a made layup, putting the Bears up 19-17. After a Wildcats timeout, L. Tava cruised through the defense, making a layup and a three-pointer.
With an eruption of cheers from the bench and crowd, the Bears entered halftime ahead 24-17.
M-A opened the third quarter with M. Tava cutting through defenders to secure a rebound and putback. The Wildcats struggled to respond, with Ulukivaiola and Fakapelea closing gaps on defense.
After two missed free throws by the Wildcats, Gray brought the ball down the court and passed it to L. Tava, who sank a shot to extend the lead 28-17.
Los Gatos answered with a three, but Gormsen kept the pressure on, drawing a heavy foul on a drive and calmly draining both free throws. After two more three-pointers from the Wildcats, M. Tava drew a foul on a layup attempt, making two free throws.
L. Tava converted a clean layup, giving M-A a 34-28 lead with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
In the final minute, L. Tava struck again, making a three-pointer to put the Bears up 37-28. With 17 seconds remaining, Fakapelea got fouled, and she sank one of the two free throws to go into the last quarter with M-A leading 38-28.
The Bears entered the fourth quarter with their eyes on the trophy. Roman and Gray set the pace with swarming defense, leaving the Wildcats with no room to even attempt a shot.
M. Tava found the bottom of the net to bring the Bears up to 40-28 with five minutes left in the game, and shortly after, Ulukivaiola got fouled and successfully made one of the two free throws. Both teams played aggressive defense, but M. Tava was able to shove through Los Gatos’ defense to get yet another layup, putting the game out of reach for the Wildcats.
With another timeout from Los Gatos, the Bears looked strong. M. Tava scored a shot after the timeout, extending the lead even more. After a couple of missed attempts from the Wildcats, Ulukivaiola ran down the court all alone to add another two points to the score.
This put the Bears at 47-28, with just three minutes left. Another timeout from Los Gatos gave M-A a chance to breathe, but the Wildcats were able to sneak by the Bears’ defense, getting a layup, and with a final timeout from Los Gatos, M-A entered the final two minutes of the game.
Ulukivaiola made her way through the defense for another two-pointer, and the teams traded two more shots, going into the final possession 51-32.
With just 30 seconds left and the ball in M-A’s hands, the Bears threw the ball up into the air and celebrated the win. Additionally, sophomore center Gracie Bullard* won the sportsmanship award, earning a medal.
“My favorite part of the game was the moment we got ahead, and our coach said the only way they’re going to beat us is with threes. He said, ‘Make sure no one hits any threes, or someone is coming out,’” Ulukivaiola said. “For almost a full quarter, we kept them at 28, not scoring anything at all because nobody wanted to come out.”
“We knew that we wanted to bring a title home. We’ve been waiting for this moment,” M. Tava said. “We were super locked in and wanted the D1 title.”
“Of course the job isn’t done,” Ulukivaiola said. “But I’m definitely blessed to have a team like this.”
M-A will take the fight to Torres on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the first round of NorCal.
*Gracie Bullard is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
