In the first round of playoffs against Victory Christian, Feb. 20, the girls lost 34-38.
The Cavs started slowly, ending the first quarter 11-11, but were able to warm up and get in their rhythm in the second quarter, with a halftime score of 19-15.
They stayed in the lead throughout the third and fourth quarters, until a Vikings’ player scored a basket with .3 seconds left in the game, causing the teams to tie 30-30.
As the four-minute overtime began, the Cavs were a bit shaky, as junior captain Julia Owaidat and senior Micaela Bennett-Smith were both in foul trouble, with four apiece.
“We weren’t really sure with our passes and decisions, and other teams can just sense when you don’t know what you are doing. (The Vikings) took advantage of that on defense and got a lot of steals,” Owaidat said.
The girls stayed even with the Vikings for about a minute, when Owaidat fouled out at 30-32.
After this, the Cavs fell behind. Bennett-Smith also fouled out at 11.3 seconds, with the score 30-38.
Even with only 11.3 seconds left, the girls finished the game strongly with freshman Yasmin Gupta making a basket and both of her free throws, ending the game 34-38.
Owaidat was the high scorer with 14 points (three 3-pointers).
Gupta scored 12; Bennett-Smith scored five; sophomore Natalie Brown had one 3-pointer.
Although the season is over, coach Matt Vargo said he’s not disappointed.
“As long as they played their hardest and had fun, I was proud of them,” he said.
The Cavs moved the ball “exceptionally well, and we played together as a team in this game and throughout the season,” Owaidat said.
Their rebounding also improved as the season went on, she said. Gupta was fifth in the league (of 97 recorded rebounding players), with an average of 9.4 rebounds per game; the national average is 2.8 rebounds.
The team’s overall record was 11-12, and their league record was 6-6.
