Junior Yasmin Gupta dribbles past Highland players as senior Alexa Mathisen jogs behind her.
After cruising to a 46-30 victory over the Delta High School Saints on Dec. 7, the girls’ varsity basketball team was set to take on the Highlands High School Scots on Dec. 12.
Highlands had a record of 9-0 going into the match and is a Div. I school, meaning their student body is almost 10 times larger than Country Day’s.
With a larger talent pool to choose from, the Scots added another win to their total when they beat the Cavs, 31-49.
The game started off rough for the Cavs. By the end of the first quarter, the Scots had already taken a 9-17 lead.
But the Cavs fought back, holding the Scots to only six points. While locking up the Scots on defense, the Cavs put up 13 points of their own, cutting the Scots’ lead to 22-23 at halftime.
It seemed like the Cavs were back in the game and ready to take over. But the Scots lit it up in the third, dropping 16 points to the Cavs five.
According to freshman Bri Davies who was out with a knee injury, the Cavs were just too gassed.
Sophomore Emily Hayes guards a Highlands player.
“We were just really tired towards the end of the game, and they just pulled ahead,” Davies said.
And Davies was absolutely right.
The Cavs put up only nine points to the Scots’ 26 in the second half.
According to senior Alexa Mathisen, who had six points, the large point margin was due to a change in pace by both teams.
“We got more tired, but they got more aggressive,” Mathisen said.
And junior Yasmin Gupta, who had 11 points, echoed Mathisen.
“We need to work on our stamina,” Gupta said.
But Davies said the battle wasn’t all physical.
“We just went in with the wrong mindset,” Davies said.
“They had a deep bench, but we just underestimated ourselves.”
The Cavs look to bounce back when they face off against the Leroy Greene Academy Lions on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 5 p.m. at Leroy Greene.
—By Jake Longoria
