Varsity girls basketball team crushes San Jose High School 58-4

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Emma Gao

Lexi Nishimura (11) prepares to pass the ball to teammate Alexa Lowe (12). The varsity girls basketball team is currently undefeated with a record of 7-0.

by Emma Gao, Reporter

The varsity girls basketball team defeated San Jose High School 58-4 at home on Dec. 4.

The game began at 12 p.m., and the Eagles dominated the first quarter, barely allowing the San Jose Bulldogs a chance at the basket. Claire Miao (10) scored the sole three-pointer in the eight-minute period, and as the clock expired, Anjali Yella (10) stole the ball and drove it down the court for an open layup to put the Eagles up 18-0.

According to team member Lexi Nishimura (11), the team sets objectives for themselves before each match, many of which they achieved during the game.

“Being aware of our surroundings is something that we [have] really improved [at] since the beginning of the season,” Lexi said. “I think that’s something we’re continuously getting better at. One thing our team did really well today was being communicative with everything that was happening during each possession.”

Gemma Chan (9) opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, and the Bulldogs followed by scoring their first basket in the game, bringing the score to 21-2 in favor of the Eagles. For the rest of the quarter, it was all Harker — the Eagles continued to control the court and ended leading 37-2, with Anjali scoring the last six points with three two-pointers.

Aside from two free throws late in the third quarter, the Eagles defense successfully shut out the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, the Eagles offense continued to perform: Anjali and Gemma hit three-pointers, and Alexa Lowe (12) made a layup in the final seconds to bring the final score to 58-4. Anjali netted 11 points during the game, the most of any player, followed by Claire and Isabella Lo (9) with nine points each.

Emily Mitnick (9) appreciates the team’s strong start this season. According to Emily, they learned from the film that they watched before the match and therefore improved on defensive techniques such as rebounding and “boxing out.” Still, she believes the team has room to improve offensively.

“I think we could calm down a little more and not get overwhelmed by everything that’s going on and see the entire court so we can find the best opportunities to score,” Emily said.

Gemma, a shooting guard on the team, was pleased with her shot selection during the game.

“I took the shots I usually don’t take,” Gemma said. “I usually settle for the outside shots, but I tried to drive it in today.”

Team captain Cindy Su (12) sets her sights on future games.

“It feels good to win, but at the same time we know we’re going to get into more difficult games later in the season,” Cindy said. “I think [this game was] a good opportunity to get to know the team and to know how we play.”

Following their dominant showing versus San Jose, the girls defeated King’s Academy 51-49 on Wednesday, South San Francisco 70-38 on Thursday and Willow Glen 50-41 on Saturday to boost their season record to 7-0.