By Uy Pham
Following four consecutive away losses, Fountain Valley High School girls’ basketball (1-4) secured a win against Godinez High School on Tuesday. The first home game of the season also marked the first win of the season for the Barons, who emerged victorious with a score of 57-52 over the Grizzlies.
“I’m so excited for these girls. They’ve worked so hard, unbelievably hard,” head coach Marianne Karp said. “[Our goal] was to block out, make contact, and get rebounds … Godinez was a great shooting team, so I am really happy with what our kids did tonight.”
Junior Karley Waite led the scoring for the Barons with 25 points along with drawing a multitude of fouls and securing crucial offensive and defensive rebounds. Freshman Kaylie Sasaki and sophomore Sophie Hsieh demonstrated leadership by facilitating the Barons’ offense, and both also recorded several crucial assists to complement their ball movement skills.
Waite opened the scoring for the Barons, along with a steal that led to a layup by junior Candice Tran for a 4-0 lead. Hsieh and Waite recorded a steal each for a total of three steals in the first few minutes of the game.
Godinez responded with two consecutive three-pointers, but, with 4:15 remaining, Waite drew a foul and completed the and-one play. Hsieh assisted junior Krystal Pham for two points, but the Grizzlies scored a total of six more points to end the first quarter with a 9-12 lead.
Despite the Grizzlies starting off the second quarter with two more points, junior Melody Nishi responded with a three-pointer to tie the game. Combined passing plays between Sasaki, sophomore Kailey Nishi and senior Lizzie Fast resulted in Kailey Nishi scoring a three-pointer for a 15-14 lead with 6:20 remaining.
Tran scored a two-pointer, and senior Samantha Nguyen exchanged a three-pointer with two Godinez three-pointers for a tied score of 20-20. Led by Sasaki and Hsieh’s offense, along with Hsieh drawing a charge, Waite scored several points to end the quarter with a 25-21 lead.
To open the third quarter, the Grizzlies sank a two-pointer, but the Barons went on a scoring run to extend the lead to 31-25 with 5:07 remaining. The Grizzlies initially had no response to Hsieh’s hook layup, junior Dasani Pham’s steal and Waite’s blocks to complement her points.
“Everybody contributed in some way,” Karp said. “When players do that, it elevates everybody. That’s what I love about this team. All of them can produce, all of them can score and all of them can play.”
However, as the quarter progressed, despite the Barons’ good rotation and ball movement throughout the offensive side of the court, the Barons struggled to convert their three-pointer and put-back attempts. To end the quarter, Godinez tied the game 31-31 after a swift fastbreak and the conversion of a three-pointer.
Sasaki opened the fourth quarter with a pull-up jumper to take the lead, but the Grizzlies quickly responded with two free throws to tie the game 33-33. Hsieh and Godinez exchanged three-pointers, but Godinez scored a mid-range shot to take a lead of 36-37.
“We [wanted to] put and keep pressure on Godinez. We missed quite a few shots in the first half, so I felt that our shots were going to fall, which they did,” Karp said. “We stuck to intuitiveness and we did not get down on ourselves.”
However, the Barons were quick to respond, with Nguyen scoring a free throw and Waite converting a shot in the paint for a two-point lead with 5:19 remaining. Tensions among the teams’ benches and spectators noticeably began to grow as the game came to a close.
Despite a Godinez layup, Hsieh stole the ball for a layup and assisted Waite and Kailey Nishi for two points each, extending the Barons’ lead to 45-39 with 3:30 remaining. Godinez quickly responded with a three-pointer and converted two free throws to close the gap to one point.
Again, the Barons and Grizzlies exchanged three-pointers, but a reverse layup from Waite pushed the Barons ahead for a score of 50-49. Waite consecutively rebounded the ball and scored a put-back and layup to extend the lead to 54-49 with 30 seconds remaining.
The Grizzlies, coming off a timeout, heaved a three-pointer into the air and scored. The game finished with Hsieh sealing the game by scoring two more free throws for the 57-52 victory.
“Hsieh controlled the tempo of the game. She clearly worked really hard getting the ball to Waite,” Karp said. “Hitting those two free throws at the end put the game out of reach, and that was huge to do something like that and have that composure.”
In addition to her many assists, Hsieh finished the game as the Barons’ second-leading scorer with 9 points.
The Barons will play their next home game against Artesia High School on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to growth. I need these kids to continue to block out, make contact and believe in themselves.” Karp said. “I think they’re finding out who they are, and trying to get their identity and figure that out as a team.”
