Despite significant efforts, varsity girls basketball lost in their CCS Sportsmanship game against the CHS Pioneers on Nov. 20, with the final score being 55-58. The game started off strong, with anticipation building as both teams focused on gaining points early on.

As possession of the ball shifted back and forth, the Pioneers scored their first points from several free throws, making the score 5-0. 

With great offensive players on the opposing team, learning how to adapt team strategies was a challenge, captain, junior Hope Yin said

“They had a lot of really good drivers and shooters, and we only really figured out how to stop them at the end, but throughout the game, it was a little tougher to do that,’’ Yin said. 

Gradually, the Mustangs were able to hold their ground by utilizing more collaborative plays, such as handing off and passing the ball more frequently to confuse the Pioneers. Point guard, junior Katelyn Tal dribbled to the three-point line, scoring for the Mustangs. The game was tied at the end of the first quarter with a score of 13-13. 

Heading into the second quarter, the Mustangs made a quick lineup change, hoping to create a stronger defensive line, coach Megan Fong said. 

Still, the Mustangs were not able to keep up with the offensive efforts of the Pioneers and struggled with defending, Yin said. The second quarter ended with a score of 25-28.

In the first few minutes of the third quarter, center, freshman Audrey Wu shot the ball, scoring two points for the Mustangs.

However, due to the Mustangs’ lack of communication on the court, open gaps were left in their defensive formation. The Pioneers took advantage of this by blocking out defenders and slipping through to the basket, ending the third quarter at 38-43. 

In a last-ditch effort, the Mustangs switched their lineup one last time to implement a more offensive approach, Fong said. 

“We really just started to gamble for it. We were losing already, so we had nothing left to lose,” Fong said. “We really just tried to go for it, and we played a lot more freely than we did in the whole beginning part of the game.”

Starting with the ball in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs made good use of their new lineup to gain advantages over the Pioneers. By passing consistently and having more players driving the ball, point guard, freshman Gabriella Barrigar was able to find an open three-point shot, making the score 44-53.  

With 20 seconds left on the clock, the Mustangs had settled into focusing more on ranged shots to gain more points, Yin said. With quick use of doubling players to gain possession, the Mustangs scored two 3-pointers, ending the game with a score of 55-58. 

The Mustangs showed great effort during the scrimmage, just faintly trailing behind the Pioneers, Fong said. 

Although the team did not succeed in catching up, players were able to improve their energy and plays throughout the game, center, junior Saide Collins said.

“We were able to keep our heads high, even though we weren’t up the whole game, but we still were able to hype each other up toward the end,” Collins said.