Owls Soar as the Knight Falls

Photo+credit%3A+Jenielle+Sephia+Bongo

Photo credit: Jenielle Sephia Bongo

Jenielle Sephia Bongo, OwlFeed Sports Editor

“Buzz!”, The buzzer beater has stopped and the Agua Fria Owls take the hard-earned victory! On Wednesday, December 7th, the Lady Owls took on Metrotech High School with all three teams dominating throughout each respective match. Ending the game with the scores of 45-5 for the freshman and sophomore team, 77-7 for the junior varsity team, and 51-30 for the varsity team. Prior to this matchup, the team’s win-loss record was 3-2, but now advancing their stats to 4-2.

Photo credit: Jenielle Sephia Bongo

With this astonishing outcome, it is apparent that the Lady Owls have been putting in the work, doing their best to prepare for each game that comes. Player Karla Mendez said, “We are really happy and excited that the season is finally here. We’ve been practicing practically the whole year, ever since the summer, and we’re really excited to be back on the court and show what we got.” Considering that it was their first home game, the team really wanted their efforts to be seen by how well their performance had been improving. Their hours and hours of training has finally paid off now that their season has started, and they showed their efforts by defeating the Knights. Coach Sam Polvino added, “We were really prepared. We had one bad day of practice, one good day of practice, and today it showed.” Another player, Tami Balogun, also commented that they were ready to face their opponents, even prior to this game, and how the team was “ready to execute and attack.” And attack they did as they all gained the upper hand early on in the first quarter and swooped the victory right off the face of the Knights. 

As Karla also stated, “We came to dominate because we knew what we were facing. We practiced hard and we just knew we had to take care of ourselves.” Each player on their team indeed put in the work and carried their own weight, ultimately leading the Owls to victory.

During the varsity game, right off the bat, the Owls came in strong as they took the lead in the first quarter with 9 points ahead. In the second quarter, the Owls scored 13 more points while the Knights only scored 2, putting them at 32-12 during half time. In the third quarter, the Owls scored another 10 points, while the Knights scored 5. As the fourth quarter came around, the Owls did score 4 less points than the Knights, but overall still had a significant lead due to their previous quarters, ending the game at 51-30, nevertheless gaining them the sweet victory.

Photo credit: Jenielle Sephia Bongo

When asked about how he thought about the team’s performance, Coach Polvino said, “We came out with a lot of energy. The first quarter was really intense and after that we kind of played a little sloppy, but overall it was a very good first home game for us.” It was at the start of the game where the team truly showed their energy and motivation, going straight to the task at hand and ready to go. “It was towards the beginning when we got the tip off and kept the intensity; that’s how we managed to get our lead throughout the game,” Karla added.

Although this win was quite expected, the team still stands to improve from this game. As Tami said, “I feel like our performance today was good but I’m not quite satisfied with it because I feel like we could have done a lot better.” Karla also stated that although she was pretty satisfied with how the match went, there is still room for improvement. Keeping this in mind, maybe the Owls will continue to dominate their future opponents, even more so than their solid conquest against the Knights.

Moving forward, it is exciting to see how the team this year evolves. “I feel excited, ready to see what comes for our team. I feel like we just need to grow together and play as a team more. But other than that, I’m really excited,” Tami stated. Surely, with our amazing girls’ basketball team, coaches, staff, and supporters, future games will be as or more exhilarating than the last. 

As the team bathes in their first home game triumphs, will this set the tone for the rest of the Lady Owls’ season? And can they keep the momentum? Hopefully they can and will. So go support them in their next home games on December 13 against Bradshaw Mountain, December 15 against Eastmark, and their last home game for the year: December 19 against Desert Edge.