The girls basketball team secured a dominant 56-43 win over the St. Bernard’s Crusaders Thursday night to advance to the NorCal Division III semifinals.
The Bears started the game strong, setting the tone early with aggressive play on both ends of the court. Senior power forward Lita Fakapelea opened the scoring by finishing nicely in the paint, and sophomore center Mary Tava followed with a smooth move to the basket to put M-A ahead 4-0. However, St. Bernard’s responded with a layup and later added a free throw to cut the lead.
Senior shooting guard Luisa Tava quickly got involved offensively, drawing a foul and making one free throw before knocking down a three-pointer. Fakapelea continued to attack the basket, driving for another layup that forced the Crusaders to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, St. Bernard’s searched for a run on their own and managed to hit a three. However, M-A remained composed, and Fakapelea answered with a pull-up jumper for two more points to close the quarter with the Bears in control, 20-12.
The second quarter began with M-A building on its momentum. Fakapelea finished another strong shot in the paint early in the period, while L. Tava drilled an additional three-pointer. Despite turnovers by the Bears briefly giving St. Bernard’s an opportunity to cut their deficit, freshman small forward Bella Gormsen stepped up with a steal to regain possession.
“We came out very strong at the beginning. That really set the tone for the rest of the game,” L. Tava said.
The Bears’ defense continued to bother the Crusaders, with steals from freshman power forward Natalie Roman and senior point guard Molly Gray. L. Tava stayed hot from deep, hitting yet another three, and Roman followed with a putback off an offensive rebound, making the score 27-15.
Late in the half, St. Bernard’s attempted to close the gap, drawing a foul on M-A, but missing both free throws. Fakapelea showcased her footwork with a spin move in the paint for another basket, but the Bears reached bonus, allowing St. Bernard’s to convert two free throws before halftime, leaving M-A in the lead 29-18.
M-A came out of the break with renewed energy. M. Tava made an immediate impact defensively with a block, then finished a layup off a sharp pass from Fakapelea. Building off of this, Fakapelea followed that up with a three-pointer, continuing her strong night. M. Tava later drew a foul and knocked down both free throws, and senior center Apé Ulukivaiola added a putback basket after battling for a rebound. Continuing their run, Gray drove to the basket for a layup, and M. Tava capped the stretch with another finish. However, several turnovers prevented the Bears from fully capitalizing before the end of the third quarter with the Bears leading 42-23.
In the final period, M-A continued to control the pace. Gormsen pulled up in the paint for two points, and freshman shooting guard Effi Lee added a midrange jumper. Despite more foul calls on M-A, the Bears still maintained their momentum.
Fakapelea drew a foul and made one free throw before pulling up in the paint to push the score to 49-37. Gormsen later found Gray with a crisp pass for a midrange jumper, and sophomore center Gracie Bullard* added another jump shot to extend the lead.
Gormsen capped off her strong defensive performance with a steal that led to a fast-break layup. The Crusaders were forced to foul repeatedly as the clock wound down, and L. Tava converted one of those free throws to seal the Bears’ 56-43 victory.
“We went in knowing they were most likely going to deny Luisa and Lita, so we practiced a lot of three-on-three and worked on fast breaks to get past their triangle defense,” Lee said.
“I feel like we came in confident this game because we knew they were a lower seed and we watched their film, so we knew we could execute,” Fakapelea said.
The Bears will travel to face the East Union Lancers on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the NorCal Division III semifinals.
*Gracie Bullard is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
