The Woodbridge Warriors walked into the gym on Monday, December 9th 2024, determined to extend their three game winning streak. The Jordan Panthers had the same hopes with their two game winning streak. Then, there was the sound of the buzzer going off signifying the beginning of an exhilarating and high-stakes game.
The Panthers made the first shot of the game giving them a 2 point lead over the Warriors. The Warriors quickly caught up with their amazing defensive steals and skills along with the jumpers shot by senior Lizzie Yasui and junior Mady Nolan. The Warriors took the win over the first quarter with a score of 8-7.
Woodbridge ended the first half of the game on a good note with a one-point lead over Jordan with a score of 18-17. When asked what his players’ did well in the game, Varsity Girls Basketball coach, Keith Clarkson, replied, “I thought we did a nice job moving the ball around in the first half.”
The Panthers were not ready to give up though. Their offense was on fire in the 3rd quarter with stellar performances by senior Diamond Toomalatai and junior Jah’asharee Moore. Toomalatai ended up scoring a total of 13 points that game, while Moore scored 16.
“Something that I could have done or we could have done better is like we could have like controlled the pace like control the ball a bit more to slow down the other team because they were trying to make it fast…and then we could have passed a bit more because our passing is kind of messy,” freshman and point guard for Woodbridge warriors, Ella Ferrer commented.
The 4th quarter was the most stressful. After Junior, and point guard for the Jordan Panthers, Janiah Lorn, made 2 out of 2 free throws, she gave her team a chance to start the final quarter out strong with a 9-point lead over the Warriors with a score of 33-24.
“Later in the quarters or like 3rd quarter or something we kind of like gave up so like it caused us like to turn over the ball and then we kind of rushed a bit which led the other team to get more points and rebounds and take the ball from us,” Ferrer said, after asked what her team could have done better with during the game.
The final quarter was full of rebounds and amazing offensive skills. Though both teams gave it their all, the Panthers ended up walking away with a win and an extension to their winning streak with a final score of 42-30.
Despite the loss, Ferrer noticed many positive outcomes with the growth of their team. “We did pretty good, we saw … more progress. We just need to work on…the pace and rebounding,” Ferrer said. Clarkson noticed the growth in his team as well.
“We have developed a lot since we started playing together this past June. I am happy to see our progress and watching them play hard every night,” Clarkson commented.
Overall, it looks like positive things can come from a loss! To find more information about upcoming games, check out the athletic schedule for Varsity Girls Basketball under the athletics page on the Woodbridge High website.
