The girls basketball team defeated the Evergreen Valley Cougars 56-37 in the CCS Division I semi-final on Thursday evening. Coming into the game, the Bears were seeded third behind the second-seeded Evergreen.
Evergreen won the tip-off, and immediately went for the basket. After numerous failed attempts the ball turned over to the Bears, and junior small forward Molly Gray put the first points on the board with a three-pointer.
The Bears continued this momentum and took advantage of the Cougars’ slow start. A layup and three-pointer from senior point guard Eve Amram and two layups from senior power forward Crystal Guerra Herrera pushed M-A to a dominating 12-0 lead.
With one minute left in the quarter, Evergreen barely dodged the Bears’ defense and managed to hit a three-pointer, their first bucket of the game, putting the score at 12-3.
The second quarter began with numerous fouls from M-A, which allowed Evergreen to score three points off of free throws. The Bears’ diminished offensive intensity gave leeway for the Cougars to steal the ball, fly down the court, and make a quick layup, tightening the score to 12-8.
After numerous turnovers, the Bears finally took hold of the ball. Junior shooting guard Luisa Tava went on a 10-point run with a three-pointer, two free throws, and another three-pointer. With 3:31 left in the half, M-A extended their lead 17-8.
Evergreen struggled to get their offense rolling, allowing senior shooting guard Avary Sheldon to steal the ball and hit an easy fast-break layup. The Cougars called a timeout in an attempt to slow the Bears down, but it was to no avail: Gray soon connected with Tava for another three-pointer.
The Cougars responded to this with a three-pointer of their own, but the half ended with Guerra Herrera banking another easy layup, extending their lead to 27-14.
Evergreen came into the second half rowdier than the first, quickly making a three-pointer and a two-pointer. Still, M-A’s offense did not back down, with a fast-break layup from junior center Ape Ulukivaiola and a three-pointer from Amram. With three minutes left in the quarter, M-A was still dominating 37-22.
The following minutes were riddled with fouls for Evergreen, yet they only scored two points from free throws. Regardless, the Bears kept dominating on offense, maintaining a 44-24 lead to end the third quarter.
The final quarter began with multiple turnovers and strong defense from both sides, but Evergreen was eventually able to break the pattern and hit a three-pointer. Sheldon remained successful on her layups, banking two and putting the score at 48-29 halfway through the quarter.
Despite facing an aggressive Evergreen defense, senior shooting guard Sara Djafari successfully responded to their fouls by making all four of her free throws. The Cougars were trying their best to not give up, but sloppy defense allowed sophomore point guard Isabelle Habibi to steal the ball, drive it down the court, and pass to junior shooting guard Molly Rosen, who made an easy layup with less than a minute left in the game.
The Cougars were able to make one last basket before the clock expired, but it wasn’t nearly enough, as the Bears took home an overwhelming 56-37 victory.
“We really pulled it off and the energy was great,” Tava said. “Coming out strong on defense really helped, because it allowed us to knock down all of our shots.”
“We lost to Evergreen last year, and at the start of the season our goal was to win the championships, so we just knew we had to come out strong and we did,” Amram said.
The Bears will return to the court away for the CCS Championship finals against the Los Gatos Wildcats at 3 p.m. on Saturday. This is the first time the Bears will play in the CCS finals in five years.
