The Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Girls Varsity Basketball team faced off against John Muir High School (JMHS) on Jan. 9 in the North Gym. With efficiency and coordination the game ended 69-31. In the San Gabriel Valley League thus far, Arcadia Girls Varsity has won five out of six games and are third in the league.
The game started off fast, with the first basket and steal made by freshman Misaki O’Donell, the point and shooting guard. Arcadia scored the first several baskets with the help of multiple assists. From the beginning of the first quarter, AHS quickly pulled ahead and took control of the game with fast, accurate passes from players like junior Maddie Tran. In the middle of the first quarter,, AHS led 18-3.
Continuing the first quarter, JMHS made many fouls leaving AHS with more opportunities to widen the point gap. However, they were slowly catching up with the score difference between the two teams lessening. The first quarter ended with a 15-point lead for AHS.
In the second quarter, AHS led consistently with a 10 point lead. Tightening their defense, Arcadia led with a 20-point gap near the end of the quarter. Arcadia showed low passes that moved the ball across the court with efficiency and made baskets with the help of assists made by freshman Nikki Tran. With less than a minute left in the quarter, AHS moved to score again keeping the pressure up.
With the start of the third quarter, the Apaches still had a 22-point lead with a score of 41-19.
By the end of the third quarter, AHS had almost a 30-point lead and was putting consistent pressure on Muir. The Apaches showed insistent defense, but JMHS’ offense was strong as well. For the next few minutes, there was a stalemate between the two teams; neither could squeeze points in. However, AHS pushed past this with a quick pass through a gap in the other team and scored another basket, continually widening the gap.
“We do a really good job of team bonding. We have a lot of chemistry this year, and we’re able to excel in both offense and defense this year,” said O’Donell. “It’s due to our good shooters and for defense we all work together and communication is huge.”
Going into the last quarter, AHS was 33 points ahead of Muir. In this quarter, both teams were consistently fouled and many players fell, being pushed to the ground with possible foul play from the other team.
Despite being nearly 40 points ahead of Muir, Arcadia still pushed through with the same determination and strength.
Through falls and fouls, Arcadia found their team chemistry and cohesiveness to work through the game.
“Watching the team grow, we started a little slow but we can see them just start bonding together and communicating at court…which is telling me the team’s moving in the right direction,” said Coach Desiree Almaraz.
