The Arcadia High School (AHS) Girls Varsity Basketball team faced off against Hoover High School (HHS) on Dec. 5, and secured a 68-13 victory for the Apaches. The North Gym filled with the cheers of excited fans as the lady Apaches fought hard, bringing the desired outcome all Arcadia athletes live for. To continue to achieve these results, the girls have been consistently practicing to improve various aspects of their game.
The girls are led by Varsity Head Coach Desiree Almaraz, who discussed a crucial part of basketball the team has been focusing on.
“Our biggest philosophy we’re putting into play is playing aggressive defense, so really zoning in on playing team defense which creates easy offense, which is what happened last night with Hoover. All of our offense was off of defensive effort into transition basketball,” stated Coach Almaraz.
The girls’ focus on improving their defense paid off in the game against Hoover, with some players on their team mentioning it as one of their favorite parts.
“I think I was able to get a lot of steals and make my fast break layups,” stated freshman Maddie Tran. A fastbreak occurs when a player attempts to quickly score, specifically before their opponents have a chance to set up a defense, while a steal occurs when one team steals the ball from the opposing team. At the game against HHS, the Apaches had an astounding 33 steals.
In the first quarter, AHS began building up their lead through a strong offense and assertive defense. The girls consistently attempted to stop the opposing team from reaching their side of the court as quickly and as early as possible.
Leading into the second quarter, the girls continued playing a powerful defense. On the offensive end, the Apaches also made sure to rely on each other to score points even faster than before, evident through their 15 assists throughout the whole game.
As the third and fourth quarters began, HHS began increasing their defensive approach. However, the Apaches continued to strive for excellence and were able to overcome this through not only team work, but individual skills through scoring close-range shots and three-pointers.
Coach Almaraz credits the most important part of any good basketball team to be one main thing: chemistry. Chemistry provides players with the ability to trust their teammates, and thus be willing to share responsibility and work together cohesively to reach their common goal.
When asked what her favorite part of basketball was, Tran said, “I think the friendships I’ve made.”
Lam echoed this sentiment, stating that the bonds she has with her teammates were also her favorite part of the game.
In addition to building the girls’ ability to play the strong defense that so greatly benefited them at the game against Hoover, the team has also been focusing specifically on building their “basketball IQ.” Through this strategy, the girls are learning to focus on not only analyzing the general plays their opponents make, but also predicting their next moves within these IQ-based team exercises, allowing the lady Apaches to maintain control of the game.
As AHS continues to focus on their defensive approach and efficient game analysis and prediction, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see them continue to win their various games against opposing schools. Congratulations to the team once again, and good luck on the rest of their season!
Photo by Myriam Kabani
