The girls basketball team crushed the Mills Vikings on Wednesday night, in an action-packed match resulting in a 53-40 win. The win keeps the Bears second in the league and 16-3 overall.
Mills won the tip, but M-A quickly took the lead after senior power forward Lita Fakapelea scored a three-pointer. This was soon followed by a defensive rebound and a basket from senior point guard Molly Gray, establishing a quick 5–0 lead.
The Vikings responded with a three-pointer of their own to take the score to 5-3, but their luck didn’t continue due to the Bears’ strong defense that prevented any further shot attempts. With six minutes left in the first quarter, M-A increased their lead with a steal and fast break layup executed by Fakapelea. The Bears remained unyielding offensively and dominated on the rebounds. This, paired with an impenetrable defense, established M-A as an unstoppable force. The Bears went on to close out the first quarter with a sizable 11-4 lead.
At the start of the second quarter, a Bears foul gave Mills two free throws, neither of which were made. M-A’s effective defense, led primarily by freshman power forward Natalie Roman, stayed strong in the second quarter, preventing the Vikings from scoring and forcing them to take a timeout with six minutes left in the quarter.
“Defensively, we did well, containing who we had to guard and stealing the ball a lot,” senior shooting guard Luisa Tava said.
Following the timeout, Mills came back determined and made a layup. However, their glory was short-lived as M-A responded with two finishes of their own, bringing the score up to 17-6 with four minutes left in the second quarter.
After continued relentless offensive pressure resulting in another basket from the Bears, Mills called another timeout in hopes of regrouping with three minutes left in the quarter. Right after the timeout, senior point guard Molly Gray flew in for the board and nailed an impressive three-pointer. Strong defense led to numerous offensive opportunities, as Fakapelea drew a foul and knocked down a free throw. Off a pass from Gray, junior shooting guard Alexa Djafari* was able to make an easy three-pointer.
“I think we had great ball movement, and we were just making our shots,” sophomore center Mary Tava said.
The Bears continued to dominate the paint, grabbing all rebounds and preventing any shot attempts from the Vikings. Defensive success translated on the other end of the court, allowing M-A to heighten their lead to 30-16 by the end of the first half.
The third quarter began slowly with three turnovers in a row. M-A picked up the pace with a powerful drive to the basket for a layup. The Vikings maintained intensity offensively with a three-pointer and a layup, which put the score at 34-23 five minutes into the third quarter.
The Vikings held their own offensively, but the Bears didn’t let that stop them. A close pass from Gray gave M. Tava an open shot, which kept the Bears ahead, 38-27. With five seconds remaining in the third quarter, Fakapelea made a last-minute pass, resulting in a three-pointer from Gormsen that left the scoreboard at 41-27.
Kicking off the fourth quarter, M-A continued with their dominance in the rebounds, both offensively and defensively. The Vikings managed to break through the Bears’ defense but were quickly overpowered once again. Gormsen then fiercely drove to the hoop to secure another two points for the Bears.
With five minutes left in the final quarter, a Mills player was fouled and was only able to convert on one of the two free throws. The Vikings then stole the ball but were quickly shut down by the Bears’ impressive defense, prompting Mills to call a timeout. Gormsen shot and scored with 3:15 left in the period, increasing M-A’s lead to 50-34. “We kept up the spirit. In the second half we were hitting our shots finally,” Gormsen said.
The Bears’ bench screamed in encouragement as Djafari then made a three-pointer soon after. Two back-to-back timeouts by the Bears and Vikings brought the game to an end with a final score of 53-40, leaving the Bears victorious.
“I think the game went super well. We started off really strong, and all of our teammates’ energy was great,” L. Tava said.
The Bears will face off against the Carlmont Scots at home for Senior Night on Friday at 6:15 p.m.
*Alexa Djafari and Gracie Bullard are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.
