The girls basketball team fell 42-30 in a devastating battle against the Los Gatos Wildcats in the CCS Division I Championship finals on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats won the tip-off and immediately put points on the board with a jumper and layup. The Bears struggled to move down the court as they battled against their quick offensive rebounds. Within just a couple minutes, the Bears were behind 7-0, succumbing to Los Gatos’ aggressive defense and swift passes.
Senior power forward Crystal Guerra Herrera soon responded, putting in M-A’s first points with a brisk bucket, but it wasn’t enough. The Bears were called on multiple offensive fouls, allowing the Wildcats to rack up points from numerous free throws and layups.
By 3:32, the Bears fell behind 10-2 and still faced offensive difficulty due to fumbled passes and failed shot attempts. A three-pointer from the Wildcats paired with another layup widened the score deficit, ending the quarter with the Bears trailing 15-2.
Despite entering the second quarter with newfound determination, the Bears still couldn’t find a hole in the Wildcats’ intense defense. Aggressive play from both sides resulted in players falling left and right, along with frequent offensive foul calls.
Guerra Herrera secured a free throw off of one of the fouls, but the Bears continued to fall behind on attack as they were forced to make flimsy passes and rely on desperate shot attempts.
After an M-A timeout, the Bears resurfaced with more intensity, leading to energized passes and successful plays. Junior shooting guard Luisa Tava launched a jumper, which was shortly followed by a fast-break layup from senior point guard Eve Amram.
In the last 30 seconds, senior shooting guard Avary Sheldon executed a seamless three-pointer, increasing the Bears’ score to 25-10 to close out the half.
As the second half rolled out, the Bears found themselves losing momentum as the Wildcats fought relentlessly for the ball. Nonetheless, M-A continued with high energy as Amram knocked down a three-pointer just two minutes in.
Following Amram, junior center Ape Ulukivaiola made a smooth layup with an assist from Tava. Closing the deficit down to 10 points, the Bears noticed Los Gatos starting to slow down on offense.
“After halftime, we came out pretty strong and played well,” Tava said.
However, the Wildcats sought to match this newfound intensity. Los Gatos immediately responded to Tava’s flawless three-pointer at the two-minute mark. As the third quarter came to a close, the Bears remained behind 30-21.
Entering the final quarter, M-A was determined to make a comeback. Right out of the gate, Sheldon hit another three-pointer, which was quickly followed by a bucket from Ulukivaiola.
Junior small forward Molly Gray and Ulukivaiola dominated the court with multiple defensive rebounds and steals, allowing the Bears to narrow the point gap to eight points, 33-25, with five minutes left.
The game was briefly paused when Gray collided with another player and sustained an injury to her head. Once the game resumed, Tava banked another three-pointer, but Los Gatos closely trailed with two other buckets.
Nearing the three-minute mark, sophomore point guard Isabelle Habibi made an incredible steal. Through a series of passes with Tava, Habibi received the ball and swept under the basket for an easy layup. The Wildcats followed this sequence with a timeout, eyeing the scoreboard at their narrowing 36-30 lead.
Through a series of layups and free throws from offensive fouls, the Wildcats built their advantage back up to 40-30 with 40 seconds left in the game.
The Bears were stunted one after another with overpasses and missed buckets despite numerous attempts to shoot. Los Gatos tacked on another couple of points with free throws and dribbled out the last 20 seconds, marking a 42-30 loss for the Bears.
“We started off kind of slow, but I think towards the end we did really great,” Tava said.
“The energy was there: we battled hard and literally threw ourselves on the floor. But ultimately it just wasn’t our game,” junior shooting guard Molly Rosen said. “We won the league, we won the Terra Nova tournament, and we’ve come so far.”
This loss concludes the team’s CCS season. The Bears will now move on to the CIF Championships, after qualifying by reaching the CCS finals.
