Additional Reporting by Shayon Moradi
The MVHS girls basketball team did not have the opportunity to ease back into the school week following the three day weekend. The Matadors warmed up on their half of the court to the sound of popular instrumental tracks. Across the court, the Santa Clara HS Bruins were going through a warm up of their own. On Jan. 17, the Matadors were blown out by SCHS by a score of 41-55.
The game began with SCHS immediately dominating on both ends of the court. The Matadors failed at effectively moving the ball up the court in the first quarter, falling victim to SCHS’ unrelenting full-court press. Meanwhile, the Bruins found themselves on the fast-break, scoring one easy basket after another.
MVHS came back with a surge in the second quarter, and although unsuccessful with their perimeter shots, the Matadors’ guards found themselves getting space to move the ball in the paint. Junior Joyce Chen and freshman Ashley Liu hustled to the rim and were key in cutting the Bruins’ lead to 6, heading into halftime down 27-21.
SCHS came out dominant in the third quarter, outscoring MVHS 21-10 and reclaiming the momentum MVHS took from them at the end of the second. Though the Matadors were on the wrong end of some missed calls by the refs, the Bruins had full control of the game and were knocking down three-pointers and forcing turnovers on defense. Once again, the Bruins’ full-court press proved to be too much for the Matadors; they forced sloppy passes that the Bruins picked off. The teams went to their respective benches at the end of the quarter, 48-31, and the game was out of MVHS’ control.
The Bruins cruised through the fourth quarter, and though MVHS attempted to mount a comeback, the deficit was too much to handle. Despite the Matadors’ efforts, the game ended with MVHS falling to the Bruins 41-55.
The girls basketball team will play their next game at Cupertino HS on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Their next home game will be on Jan. 20 at 6:15 p.m. against Lynbrook HS as a part of the quad game matchup between MVHS and LHS.
