Girls Varsity Basketball vs La Reina
February 7, 2020
The Cate girls varsity basketball team swept Frontier League play Thursday night with a victory over a tough and well-coached La Reina team. Out of the gate, the Rams played some of our best basketball of the season. Our backcourt defense led by sophomore Meena Baher, senior Piper Brooks, and junior Lily Zanze flustered the Regents in the opening minutes. Capitalizing on steals, the Rams jumped to an early 17 point lead. Zanze had 6 in the quarter, while Baher had 8. We ended the first quarter up 21-11.
The Regents resiliently fought back in the second quarter with stellar outside shooting and second-chance shots. Moreover, playing without senior guard Jess Yang, the Rams became fatigued and careless with the ball giving La Reina far too many fastbreak opportunities. The Regents outscored the Rams 15 to 9 bringing the halftime score to 30 to 26.
After implementing adjustments to our defense and getting some much-needed rest at the break, Cate came out in the second half playing their basketball. Baher had a brilliant all-around game with a timely 9 points in the third quarter. She finished with 20. Likewise, senior forward Maya Blattberg shined in the second half after being in foul trouble in the first. She contributed 10 of her 16 points in the third and fourth quarters and even took over at point guard at one point. Battling illness, Brooks managed to play unrelenting defense and controlled the tempo of our offense. Junior Deb Brittain continued to be a force in the paint with numerous rebounds and 8 points. Senior Maya Fenelon also added valuable minutes with tough defense and patient offense in the third and fourth quarters.
With this victory, the Rams finished Frontier League play undefeated (8-0) with an average margin of victory of 32 points! We are incredibly proud of the hard work and toughness of our team. We will find out our CIF draw on Sunday the 9th.
Thanks again for the support this season. We look forward to seeing you at our playoff games.