By Akshara Majjiga

The girls JV basketball game was the first of four on Jan. 12. As the first team on the floor, the players were anxious to begin the night with a win.

“In a normal game there aren’t a lot of people watching, and in a quad game there are way more people so it’s more pressure,” sophomore Kayleigh Hau said. “I enjoy this because it’s encouraging, but at the same time, it was a bit nerve-wracking.”

Despite this extra motivation, the game was one-sided from the start. Lynbrook HS jumped out to an early lead. Frequent turnovers and missed shots left MVHS in a hole at the end of the first quarter, as LHS had a comfortable lead of 16-2.

In the second quarter, MVHS scored early but failed to make a basket for the remainder of the quarter. LHS, on the other hand, was able to take more shots and seemed to score effortlessly. In addition to holding MVHS to two points in the quarter, they took more free throws to build on their lead, ending the quarter 28-4.

MVHS returned to the court after halftime with renewed energy and scored the first points of the quarter. They managed to hold LHS scoreless for almost three minutes until LHS made a free throw. MVHS’ stronger defense forced bad shots and turnovers, allowing MVHS to chip away at the LHS lead slightly. Although MVHS outscored LHS 11-8 in the quarter, the third quarter ended with a score of 15-37 in favor of LHS.

“I think [it was better in the second half] because we hyped each other up and we really encouraged each other and built each other’s confidence to do better,” Hau said. “I put all my negative thoughts aside during [the second half].”

Throughout the second half, MVHS took more free throws than LHS. Strong plays by many players including Hau, who had two and-ones in the second half, allowed MVHS to finish the game strong. However, in the end, the Vikings edged out the Matadors 47-25.