On Tuesday evening, the girls’ varsity basketball team defeated the Wilcox Chargers 52-28.
“We started off a little bit slow in the first quarter,” junior Fiona Steinmetz said. The game started with the Bears racking up only seven points in total, ending the first quarter trailing Wilcox by two points.
Wilcox had numerous consecutive p
asses and successful drives into the lane, but got shut down when the Bears ramped up their defense, implementing a full-court press in the second half.
“As the game went on, we got more and more aggressive,” said Steinmetz. “We made better passes, and assists, and looked to play more as a team.”
The Bears created quick scoring opportunities in transition by increasing their defensive pressure. The Bears scored 12 points in the second quarter and only gave up three, leaving the score 19-12 in favor of M-A at halftime.
Sophomores Eve Amram and Sara Djafari each made two three-pointers in the second half, and junior Taylor Spackman scored five points in the third quarter as well. However, Steinmetz led all scorers, racking up a total of 21 points.
“In the second half, we really understood what we had to do,” said Amram. “We were able to trust each other with the ball.”
The Bears offense came to life in the second half, scoring a total of 33 points between the two quarters. The Chargers had no response to the Bears’ offensive dominance, and could not match the scoring flurry. Shot after shot fell for M-A which grew their lead to 24, leaving the final score at 52-28.
“We started getting threes in the second half, and it gave us some momentum,” Coach Steve Yob said. “We could have improved on our defense, but I’m still proud of our first game.”
Aside from practice, both Steinmetz and Amram said that team bonding activities have allowed the team to grow closer and understand each other more, on and off the court. “It helps us play better together,” Steinmetz said.
“We understand how we all play, and it helps with ball movement when we know where everyone is going,” Amram added.
“It’s only the beginning,” said Yob. “There are a lot of things to build on, but we’ll keep on improving day by day.”
