In a violent match against Buckingham Charter Magnet High School, Jan. 23, the girls’ basketball team won, 38-18.
The Cavs were able to get a large lead in the first and second quarters because they were careful not to force the ball while they were passing and shooting, resulting in limited turnovers. Junior Julia Owaidat scored two 3-pointers.
Although the Cavs focused on improving passing and swinging the ball in the first half, this changed in the second half when the Knights became aggressive and physical.
“At that point it was a matter of not getting hurt,” Owaidat said.
However, because of this aggression, sophomore Anny Schmidt got a bloody lip when she was elbowed in the face, and senior Micaela Bennett-Smith was “practically strangled,” according to Owaidat.
After Bennett-Smith grabbed a rebound in the last minutes of the game, two Knights’ players surrounded her, and one swung her arm around Bennett-Smith’s neck.
“It was clearly a foul, and I pushed her away,” Bennett-Smith said.
“I don’t think we actually would have fought, but I was pretty angry because it was so uncalled for. There is being aggressive, and then there’s being bad sports.”
Owaidat, on the other hand, was “ready to fight,” she said with a sheepish grin.
“I was on the bench at the time, but I quickly shot up out of my chair and told (the Knights’ player) to back off (Bennett-Smith),” Owaidat said.
However, the situation cooled down once the refs forced the game to continue by letting Bennett-Smith shoot two free throws.
The Cavs’ next game is Tuesday, Jan. 27, against Valley Christian in Roseville, at 6 p.m.
