Boys’ Basketball
Boys’ varsity basketball won, 54-48, against Freedom Christian at the Mather Sports Center on Dec. 10.
The boys previously played Freedom on opening night of their season, losing 38-40.
Sophomore Bradford Petchauer believes that the Cavs’ upper hand was that the team knew the player that carried Freedom, number 10.
With this knowledge they shut him down as soon as they could and prevented any surprises.
“Coming off from the Redding tournament, I think we really regrouped and realized our potential,” junior Skovran Cunningham said.
“We realized we are a lot better than we played in our first game. Everyone worked together.”
Sophomore Serajh Esmail, who played point guard, was out of the game due to a knee injury but noted that the team played very hard with revenge in the back of their minds.
“I believe the team executed all the necessary steps in order to win,” Esmail said.
But Esmail also said the team still needs to work on their vocal communication on the court and their fundamentals, meaning practicing boxing out and dribbling with heads up to see where players are heading.
Cunningham added that the team needs to improve on the closing of quarters and games.
“At the end of the third quarter, we were up by double digits, but the other team had a flare and almost caught up. We were lucky to get our foot back on the gas pedal,” Cunningham said.
The boys play at home against New Life at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Girls’ Basketball
On Dec. 3 the girls’ basketball team played Freedom Christian and barely won. The Cavs managed to sneak by, overcoming Freedom 30-26.
“I was frustrated,” sophomore Julia Owaidat said. “So this week I practiced more.”
This time Owaidat’s hard work, including her 29 points, paid off, helping the Cavs triumph over Freedom once again, 42-27, on Dec. 10.
The team had a zone defense in the first quarter, which is when each player is defending her individual zone on the court, but it wasn’t helping much. The girls were down at the end, 5-10.
In the second quarter, the girls quickly switched to man-on-man defense in which each player guards another player from the opposing team.
With the man-on-man defense, the team bounced back and took the lead—a lead which it held for the rest of the game.
“After the game (coach) Matt Vargo said to us that our offense was better than the (boys’ varsity)!” freshman Natalie Brown said.”
This win leaves the girls with a 2-0 record. They play away at Delta High School at 6 p.m on Monday, Dec. 16.
And Owaidat said she’s looking forward to that game.
“The team is now learning how to make good decisions, and we are used to each other,” Owaidat said.
