![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Varsity girls basketball team dominates Lincoln 50-15
With her eyes on the players in front of her, Grace Hoang (11) runs while dribbling the basketball down the court. The varsity girls basketball team defeated Lincoln High School 50-15 at home on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
December 7, 2021
The varsity girls basketball team won 50-15 against Lincoln High School on Tuesday, Nov. 30 during their second game of the season. The girls also won 44-31 against Sobrato High School on Nov. 23 over the Thanksgiving break.
Co-captain Alexa Lowe (12) secured the opening tipoff, and the Eagles jumped ahead to a fast start. Claire Miao (10) made a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first quarter, putting the Eagles ahead by 13 points with a score of 19-6.
“Anjali [Yella (10)] is really well-rounded. She’s good at defense and she can hustle up and down the court,” said co-captain Cindy Su (12), in reference to Anjali’s layup that brought the score from 12-4 to 14-4 during the first quarter. “It’s good to see because it pushes you to work as hard as her, if not harder.”
Three minutes into the second quarter, Cindy scored on an assist from Alexa, bringing the overall score to 23-10. With three minutes and 52 seconds left in the quarter, Alexa cut backdoor with a pass from Alexis “Lexi” Nishimura (11) and scored, prompting Lincoln to call a timeout. After Claire Miao (10) made a 3-pointer to bring the score to 31-10, Isabella Lo (9) brought the girls up to 33 before Lincoln scored another basket. The final score at halftime was 33-12.
The girls continued to dominate in the second half, ending the third quarter with a 38-15 lead. Lexi made the last layup to end the game.
“During the fourth [quarter], our passing game went really well,” Isabella Lo (9) said. “A lot of the older girls have been super welcoming, especially the team captains. They [have] really made an effort to welcome everyone in.”
Since their first game, assistant varsity girls basketball coach Rick Rievhoff has noticed a significant improvement in both the team’s defense game and growth in their camaraderie.
“Things we’ve been working on in practice, the girls are starting to show on the floor,” Rievhoff said. “There’s still some things we need to work on like patience on offense, but overall, I think it was a pretty good effort.”
The girls won their following game 70-28 against Overfelt High School on Wednesday and 58-4 against San Jose High School on Saturday. The girls will play King’s Academy next this coming Wednesday, Dec. 8.
