![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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 overcame Milpitas High School 36-32 in an away game on Tuesday.
Milpitas won the tip off and secured the first points from a layup. Point guard Jillian Chen (10) responded immediately, dishing an assist to center Sanika Das (11). Jillian and forward Hammy Hernandez (10) scored three free throws for Harker as the Eagles and Trojans fought neck and neck, increasing their lead to 5-2. As the quarter came to a close, guard Finley Ho (11) sank a three and Sanika drew two fouls back to back, scoring at the line to bring Harker ahead 12-6.
“Our strategy was just to come out strong,” Jillian said. “We know what we can do. We have trust in our program, trust in our coaches, trust that we know what we’re doing, so coming out with a lot of energy, a lot of trust in each other was our game plan.”
Harker slowed down in the second quarter, with Milpitas stripping the ball off drives and intercepting passes as the Eagles struggled to regain control. Milpitas racked up points off a fast break and multiple passes into the paint as Harker played defensively to focus on possession. Hammy scored Harker’s only basket during the quarter on a jumper, and the Eagles ended the period 14-11.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Hammy finished a layup off a drive and both Jillian and Sanika scored points from fouls. However, Milpitas swung the ball to break Harker’s zone and fed passes to their center, who scored multiple baskets off assists and rebounds to pull the Trojans ahead 19-21. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Finley swished a three pointer to finish the quarter 22-21.
“We played really strong defense and offense, and we held it together throughout the end despite the different issues we were having,” Sanika said. “We made really good adjustments as a team, especially because the other team was playing extremely aggressively. We made sure to talk on defense, and we communicated really well overall, which helped our defense flow.”
Milpitas carried their momentum into the fourth quarter, draining a three and putting a basket up in the post to put Harker at a 22-26 deficit. Forward Selena Chen (11) scored a free throw, and Jillian fought for an and-one and made the shot at the line, allowing the Eagles to balance the score 26-26.
“Our weakness was boxing out,” Jillian said. “Sometimes we gave up too many second chance opportunities. We would play 30 seconds of great defense and then we wouldn’t end it off with a rebound, so then we’d have to play another 30 seconds of defense, which wasn’t the best.”
Sanika shot in the paint and Jillian pulled off a spin move, drawing close to Milpitas at 30-29. Hammy and Sanika capitalized on Milpitas’s turnovers and drew fouls in transition to place Harker at a 32-30 lead. Jillian sealed the game by scoring from a drive, securing the victory for the Eagles with a final score of 36-32.
Assistant coach Akhila Ramgiri (‘19) commended the team’s display of resilience in continuing to use strategy despite the intense atmosphere and close score.
“We lost our lead right at the beginning of the fourth quarter,” Ramgiri said. “That was definitely a big growing point for us because today was the first time I saw the girls really take on that challenge and fight back. We had confidence the whole way through and we were able to storm back and finish it out at the end, which is really good to see.”
The team currently holds a record of 8-4, and will play Menlo School tomorrow.
