Varsity Girls Basketball lost 65-55 against Evergreen Valley High School on Saturday, Jan. 13. Both teams started strong with MVHS scoring nine points and EVHS scoring 14 in the first quarter. The Matadors caught up in the second quarter, tying with EVHS 26-26 by halftime. However, MVHS lost its momentum in the third and fourth quarters, ultimately allowing EVHS to secure their victory with a 10-point deficit, ending the game with a final score of 65-55.
Having not competed against EVHS during last year’s season, senior and shooting guard Vivian Ong states that the team had aspirations for this game. Ong believes that the team had a few runs in the third and fourth quarters where the Matadors kept landing shots and were able to catch up to EVHS’ lead.
Junior and guard Miya Kosakura, however, believes the Matadors initially doubted their own abilities when sizing up EVHS, causing them to scramble during the game. Nevertheless, she says they eventually found their footing as they began to play the game on their own terms.
“In the beginning, we had a slow start,” Kosakura said. “We were playing soft and we went into the game intimidated and scared of the other team. But throughout the game, we were able to progress and we knew our style of play, so we just had to do that from the start.”
Ong agrees with Kosakura that she also wants the team to take a more assertive approach. Both players add that the large number of fouls during the game was a factor keeping the team from coming out on top.
“We had so many fouls in this game,” Ong said. “Some of them were our fault and some of them were the referee’s fault. We need to improve on playing smarter to minimize them.”
In spite of that, Kosakura believes that the team played valiantly and gave their best effort even in the face of a strong opponent.
“I think we definitely did our best to contain their best player who we already knew going into the game,” Kosakura said. “We fell short in the end, but overall, we put up a great fight against a really skilled team.”
