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The day before girls basketball faced Homestead High School for the second time this season, they had homework to do. The team watched their previous loss against the Mustangs and took notes, strategized, commented and planned until they were prepared. In the footage, they saw a slow first half followed by a much stronger second half, and they were ready to fix those mistakes, starting from the first buzzer. And they did.

MVHS beat the Mustangs at home on Feb. 4. A fairly even first quarter ended with the Matadors barely edging out HHS 12-10, but MVHS widened the gap to a double digit lead in the third quarter. HHS pushed back in the final quarter, but MVHS pushed harder with consistent rebounds and back-to-back points, winning 45-36.

“We got payback,” captain senior Hannah Pollek said. “Our goal for today was to come out with the right energy from the start. We did that this time.”

Though MVHS dominated the court and held on to possession, HHS trailed by only one point with two minutes left in the second quarter. Pollek passed to junior Alyssa O’Neil in the post. O’Neill laid it in. 20-17. Sophomore Shivalika Chavan made a shot a few seconds later. 22-17. Less than two seconds remained in the half. Freshman Joyce Chen took two free throws. Both were good. The Matadors were up 24-17 at halftime and kept the lead at a comfortable distance for the remainder of the game.

This game marked O’Neill’s return to the court after a foot injury took her out for four weeks.

“I got really tired,” O’Neill said. “I was like, ‘Oh damn, I forgot what it was like to do all of that running.’” She acknowledged that she needs to brush up on her plays, but that she was proud of the team and their progress, that they are now playing defense like they should have been all season long.

The Matadors have defeated two teams that they had lost to in the first round of league play — a clear sign of progress and a leap towards CCS according to Pollek and co-captain senior Christina Jennings.

“We’re getting there,” Jennings said. “In the beginning we were definitely on the verge of not making [CCS], but this second half of the season, we’re focused on winning.”

There is room for improvement, specifically in communication on defense, Chen noted, but the team is well on their way to a successful season.

“We’re on a really good path now,” Chen said.

Girls basketball’s next game is Feb. 6. against Lynbrook High School at 6:15 p.m. Tune into a live broadcast of the game on elestoque.org/sports