Varsity Girls Basketball lost against Los Gatos High School 52-37 on Friday, Jan. 19. LGHS held the lead throughout the game, ending the first quarter with a score of 15-9 and ending the next two quarters with scores of 34-19 and 44-28, respectively.
Before playing Los Gatos, MVHS had previously only lost two games this season, one against Branham High School and the other to Evergreen High School. Freshman and forward and point guard, Allie Rummelhoff, believes the team’s loss of momentum during the second quarter of the game led to this loss.
“We got really hesitant in the second quarter,” Rummelhoff said. “The second quarter killed us. If we were to just stay confident the whole time, we would have had a better chance.”
Senior and center Sophia Lu agrees, explaining how MVHS lost some of the high-low shots it attempted, resulting in LGHS getting in on the high posts of the court and utilizing the cutting backdoor play, a play used to deceive the person guarding you by pretending to run towards the ball and then quickly going the other way behind and around the person guarding you. This offensive play allowed LGHS to receive many rebounds.
“We played well with what we had knowing that they are a taller team than us and we came in as the underdogs, but I think we played the way we knew how to play,” Lu said. “We started off strong, but in the second quarter, we faltered and let them get ahead by a little bit and they carried on with that momentum.”
Senior and guard Vivian Ong also acknowledges that height played a large role in the outcome of the game, as she recalls that it was a very physical game with a lot of pushing and shoving. Ong believes that the team will be better prepared and take the physical traits of its opponents more into consideration in the next game.
“We had a lot of good steals and were more aggressive in the end than we were the whole game,” Ong said. “I think that communicating your position on the court and stopping the back door cutters is something we could do better.”
However, Rummelhoff views this loss as one they can learn from to help prepare them for the rest of the season. As the team continues to practice, Rummelhoff echoes Ong’s beliefs that the players should work on communication with each other, especially with their defense. As the team progresses and builds its confidence throughout the season, Rummelhoff is excited to have a chance to face off against LGHS again in hopes of a win and believes that this game was a learning experience that prepared them for CCS. Even throughout losing games, Ong explains that these losses don’t deter the team and stresses the importance of the strong mindset needed to progress.
“We move past it — that game is over,” Ong said. “We keep charging forward and reflect on our mistakes but don’t dwell on them.”
