The varsity girls basketball fell 43-59 to the Cathedral Catholic Dons last Friday at their home court, the Olive Garden. After a tough first quarter ending 9-24, the players gained momentum. The second quarter ended with a ten-point increase for the Falcons 19-35, but the school ultimately lost the game.
The game started in favor of the Dons, who scored the first five points as the Falcons tried to defend. Before the end of the quarter, Lavi Parraway (11) stole the ball and made it to the other side of the court, in an attempt for a shot, but missed.
“I feel as if Cathedral punched us in the mouth early, and it is always hard to recover from a start like that,” new varsity head coach Alaysia Styles said. “I am extremely proud of my girls for how they responded and played with heart for the rest of the game.”
Even as the Dons scored a three-pointer, Parraway came in to score the team’s first successful buckets. Throughout the game, the energy stayed high with cheers from families, the student section and the boys basketball team.
The game went calm for the Falcons as the Dons scored another nine points. Shooting guard and small forward Zaara Qazi (10), shot a two-pointer. Before the end of the first quarter, Cathedral scored five more points, and the Falcons ended with two individual last scores: a three-pointer, and a single point from a layup from team captain and shooting guard Charley Pegg (12).
“I think that in the first quarter we didn’t come in with strong intensity, and that’s why we struggled a little bit,” Qazi said.
After a varsity cheer performance, the second quarter began with Paraway scoring a two-pointer and forward Holly Rucks (10) scoring another two-pointer. However, the Dons consistently scored. After a three-pointer from Cathedral, team captain Addi Knauf (12) scored a point from a layup.
The quarter was not smooth sailing for the Dons when Izzy Dieter (9) blocked a near point, but Cathedral persisted, gaining three more points. The second quarter ended with Pegg scoring a two-pointer, and Parraway following with another two-pointer. The stands continued to rally for the Falcons, even as the second quarter ended in a score of 19-35.
“I think that our second half was great,” Pegg said. “We played with a lot of energy and heart, but we just have to start off stronger.”
The third quarter began with a three-pointer from Parraway, followed by a counteracting three-pointer from a Don, and then a two-pointer from Brooke Thomas (11). The Dons managed another quick three-pointer before the Falcons scored three points in a row, making the score 31-41. The last points scored by Cathedral ended the quarter 31-45.
The Dons slowed down their gameplay after the 10-point difference.
Rucks and Dieter passed the ball between one another and scored to get the first point of the quarter; however, Cathedral followed with two more scores, which Pegg countered with a three-pointer.
The Dons quickly went on a four-score streak until the Falcons directly countered with four more scores before the game ended. Despite Pegg’s final point, the game ended 43-59.
The start from the Dons ended up setting an example for the rest of the game, and set up a challenge for the Falcons.
“A lowlight was that Cathedral’s pressure forced us into lots of turnovers and got out of the gate quicker than we did,” Styles said. “Pressure has gotten to us and has been the common denominator for all of our losses this year. We are looking to improve our ability to take care of the ball and relax under pressure.”
Styles reminds the team that the end goal for the season is not to win a title, but rather to build real team connection and consistency. The girls are still adjusting to new members and coaches — Styles, Andrew Gerdes and Hannah Kohl — and with that comes more practice and experiences to be made.
“I don’t have any goals like winning CIF or winning the league; my biggest goal is to teach our girls how to put their hearts into everything that they do,” Styles said.
