The girls basketball team conquered the Los Altos Eagles in an intense and physical game on Thursday evening, resulting in a 58-46 win. With this win, M-A advanced to the CCS Finals on Saturday.
The Eagles gained possession off the tip-off, but the Bears responded quickly as senior power forward Lita Fakapelea knocked down a smooth floater to put their first points on the board.
The game started with high energy as both teams relentlessly fought for rebounds and loose balls, but the Bears managed to pull ahead due to their scorching three-point shooting.
M-A began to gain momentum offensively despite Los Altos’ aggressive defense as senior shooting guard Luisa Tava scored her second three-pointer, the third consecutive three-pointer for the Bears. M-A stayed consistent as senior point guard Molly Gray scored a layup inside, extending their lead to 13-6.
The Bears and Eagles both relentlessly fought for the ball, with frequent steals and turnovers on both sides. Los Altos tried to make a push, stealing a pass to finish a layup in transition, but L. Tava knocked down another big three to keep the Eagles out of reach.
Los Altos scored again off a steal, but M-A remained unfazed, closing out the quarter with a lead of 16-12.
M-A kicked off the second quarter on defense, but quickly intercepted an Eagles pass. Both teams kept up the intensity, pushing the ball back and forth. Freshman shooting guard Bella Gormsen raised the Bears’ lead to 19-12 with a three-pointer, leaving 5:58 left on the clock.
Los Altos had consistent possession of the ball after they were forced to call a timeout, but M-A soon regained control, and Fakapelea nailed yet another three-pointer. With four minutes left in the quarter, both teams ramped up the aggressiveness and committed one foul after another.
The Bears called a timeout with two minutes on the clock, and emerged dominant as L. Tava drained another three. M-A finished the first half with a decisive 33-18 lead.
Going into the second half, the Eagles upped their intensity, getting a steal on the first play. Los Altos’ defense remained aggressive, but M-A continued to find ways to break through, as L. Tava was found on a beautiful cut to the rim for an easy layup.
“Everyone got to score today, and it was just great team chemistry overall,” Fakapalea said.
Despite this, Los Altos kept M-A on their toes with an unrelenting full-court press, resulting in many turnovers for the Bears.
M-A maintained their lead throughout the quarter with their intelligent ball movement and red-hot shooting, ending the quarter 47-30.
The Bears started the fourth quarter with the ball in their back court. Gray received the ball and drove past her defender, surging down the court all the way to the rim, where she was fouled. Gray sank one of two free throws to give the Bears the first point in the fourth.
Early in the quarter, M-A struggled to break through the Eagles’ tough defense but managed to prevent Los Altos from gaining traction with their defensive work. Sophomore center Gracie Bullard* played scrappy defense on her assignment and ended the possession with a firm block.
On the other side of the floor, the Bears continued to find ways to score. Fakapelea drove into the paint and lost her defender with a tricky spin move to finish with a floater with three minutes left on the clock.
In the last seconds of the game, M-A let the clock run out as the Bears’ bench rushed on the court to celebrate their 58-46 win.
“I think coming out knowing that we had to win this game to move on, we definitely didn’t want our season to end,” L. Tava said, in response to what worked well.
“Our goal this year is to go to the championship, and we’re playing Saturday, and I think we got it,” sophomore center M. Tava said.
The Bears faced the Los Gatos Wildcats for the championship on Saturday at 5 p.m.
*Gracie Bullard is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
