By Uy Pham
Plagued by injuries to a roster of 13 players including both captains and three starters, Fountain Valley High School’s girls’ basketball only suited up seven players for Tuesday’s defeat against Whitney High School. Coming off a three-game losing streak, the Barons sought their first win of the season against the Wildcats. Despite the Barons losing 35-58, the team achieved a goal of maintaining the healthy status of these seven players.
“[Our goal?] Nobody else gets hurt,” head coach Marianne Karp said.
Out of the seven available players, sophomore Karley Waite and senior Dianna Burke led the Barons’ offense by scoring and assisting a majority of the plays. Hard defense by the Barons stopped several of the Wildcats’ attempts, but crucial turnovers and fastbreaks allowed Whitney to outplay the short-handed Barons. The Barons progressed through the court but struggled to complete the final passes that would lead to a score on the play.
“I think we need to do a better job swinging the ball around to the other side,” Karp said. “I feel like we’re a little too tentative and not aggressive offensively.”
Points scored by Waite and Burke helped to end the first quarter with the Barons leading 11-10. The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter. Although the scoring stalled due to fouls committed by both teams, missed shots and turnovers by the Barons helped the Wildcats extend their lead to 11-22.
With 3:44 remaining in the second quarter, Waite drove to the basket and scored a layup while being fouled. The Wildcats protested, calling for a travel against Waite, but the Barons were awarded an and one opportunity on the play. However, Waite missed the free throw with the score at 13-22. Whitney quickly responded with additional baskets, but Waite scored a layup with 20 seconds remaining to end the quarter 15-26.
The third quarter began with Waite rebounding the ball and putting the first points on the board for the quarter, with the score 16-26. The Wildcats fired back with several more points, and with Barons missing free throws, Whitney scored a three-pointer to extend their lead to 17-35.
Waite scored again for the Barons along with an assist by senior Alana Flores to Burke to close the score to 21-35. Whitney capitalized on several of the Barons’ turnovers to initiate a scoring run that ended with another three-pointer and a score of 21-48 with one minute remaining.
To finish the quarter, Waite passed to Burke who was fouled and converted one free throw for 22-48. Whitney ended the quarter 22-50.
Both teams struggled to score to begin the fourth quarter. Waite shot the ball and drew contact for a foul. On her play, the ball sat on the rim for a few seconds before rolling into the net for an and-one opportunity. She scored, changing the score to 25-50. A series of back-and-forth drives insinuated, but the Wildcats scored more of their shots for a score of 29-58 and 4:37 remaining.
The Wildcats failed to score for the rest of the game with the Barons going on a scoring run to end the final two minutes. Fueled by cheering from their supporters, Burke scored two points and assisted four points for Waite to end the game with a score of 35-58.
“It’s hard to play in a game when you only have so many players, two subs,” Karp said. “The ones that were here were able to play and gave everything they had. That’s all you can ask of anybody.”
The team’s next game will be a non-league away game against Santa Fe High School on November 29.
