With chants of “D-up” and “Defense-Defense-Defense” coming from their teammates and the crowd, the JV girls basketball team kept a strong defense and defeated the Washington Eagles 59-12 at the annual Battle of the Birds game on Friday, Jan. 18 at Kezar Pavilion. The team is currently tied with the Lincoln Mustangs for first in the Academic Athletic Association.
Lowell began the first quarter by winning the tip-off. However, the Eagles were soon able to gain possession of the ball and drive it down the court. Their effort to score proved fruitless when freshman point guard Elle Ladine stole the ball back to make the first basket of the game. Throughout the quarter, the Cards kept a strong defense, which led them to dominate their rivals 25-4 by the end of the quarter.
The Eagles strengthened their defense in the second quarter, pushing the Cards to score many of their points from free throws. With 2:40 minutes left in the quarter, sophomore point guard Kristel Antonio successfully stole the ball from the Eagles and made a quick drive down the court to score the first points of the quarter. The Cards then picked up their momentum, scoring 15 more points and ended the quarter with a 40-10 lead.
Both teams got off to a rocky start in the third quarter, missing many of their shots. A major reason for this was the lack of communication between players. “That’s definitely something we can never stop working on,” sophomore point guard Nianna Sarmiento said. However, they were able to prevent the Eagles from scoring any points while pulling themselves ahead. The quarter ended with Lowell ahead 49-10.
Knowing that they were about to win the game, the Cards switched up their lineup in the fourth quarter, allowing more players to contribute to the game. They eventually emerged victorious 59-12. According to freshman shooting guard Hunter Chan, the team has been talking on-court and off-court prior to this game, which enabled them to grow as a team and motivate each other throughout the game. “In each game, we just wanna grow as a team, it’s not really about whether we win or not,” Chan said. “If we’re growing as a team, we’re winning.”
The Cardinals’ next game is against the San Francisco International Huskies at 4 p.m. at San Francisco International High School.