Varsity girl’s basketball defeats Pacific Collegiate

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Shay Lari-Hosain

Jordan Thompson (10) tries to avoid a defender. The Varsity girls’ basketball team defeated Pacific Collegiate 39-20.

The Varsity girls’ basketball team defeated Pacific Collegiate 39-20 yesterday at the Blackford campus.

The Eagles kicked off with a strong start, quickly eking out a two-point lead, and closing the first quarter at 6-4. Notable players included Jordan Thompson (10) with 21 points, Aishu Murari (11) with 6 points and Lekha Chirala (12) with 3 assists. Jordan scored after drawing a foul with 23 seconds left before halftime.

At the half, the Eagles led 14-8. Athletic director Dan Molin commented on the team’s performance.

“We’re playing really well,” he said. “The girls are working really hard; they’re hustling and playing good defense so far. I think they’ll pick it up more in the second half.”

The third quarter’s highlights included Jordan’s two three-pointers, the last of which bumped the score up to 32-8 with less than two minutes left on the clock, and Selin Sayiner’s (9) layup with 35 seconds left in the quarter. By the close of the quarter, the score was 35-10 in favor of the Eagles.

The Eagles continued to widen the gap, ending the game with a nineteen-point lead.

After the game, Head Coach Alfredo Alves attested to the team’s collaborative strengths.

“The strongest point today and has been for the last couple games was [teamwork], and I think today showed a team that was playing together,” Alves said. “They were moving the ball and they just fed off of each other. Definitely very proud of them.”

Team Captain Lekha Chirala (12) also noted the team’s marked improvement over previous games.

“We pulled it together and we actually played team basketball today,” she said. “It was a lot more of looking at other people, instead of just doing whatever you wanted to do. It was a lot better.”

Spectator Rohan Desikan (11) recalled the most memorable moment of the game.

“Aathira [Menon (11)] made a bank three[-pointer]; it hit the backboard and went in. We all went crazy,” he said. “That was absolutely impossible.”

On Dec. 27, the team will play Oak Grove High School at Blackford at noon.