By Kevin Sears
On Tuesday, December 4, the Fountain Valley girls’ basketball team took on Irvine High School in a pre-league season game. After an intense competition, the Lady Barons scraped by with a victory of 47-43. Key players were sophomore Sophie Hsieh, scoring 13 points, junior Candice Tran, scoring 10, and amazing rebounds by junior Karley Waite, scoring 11.
The Barons began the game by winning the opening tipoff. However, after a shot by senior Melody Nishi, the Barons lost the ball and the first three points. However, the Barons quickly returned the favor with a layup by Tran. Irvine would continue pushing the Barons into a corner with two subsequent shots, a three-pointer and a two-pointer.
“Basketball games are a game of runs, and you have to survive the runs. The team’s going to go off, and you have to battle your way back, and then we’ll probably go off and score a bunch of points, and you just have to keep battling,” head coach Marianne Karp said.
Junior Dasani Pham would pull through with a three-pointer, reducing the deficit to 5-8 in Vaqueros’ favor. The Barons and Vaqueros would continue trading shots, with three key shots by Hsieh gaining a total of five points. The first quarter would end with a score of 11-13 with great defense by Waite and accurate passes by Tran.
The second quarter commenced with a layup by Pham, and due to an out-of-bounds by Irvine, Tran was able to continue the attack with a three-pointer. By the first minute of the second quarter, the Barons were able to reduce their deficit and take the lead with a score of 16-13.
3 minutes into the game, the score would even out again to 18-18, with a foul made by Irvine at 5:43. Baron Krystal Pham took advantage of this opportunity to score a point with an impressive one-handed shot.
Freshman Kaylie Sasaki would score her first shot, a three-pointer assisted by Hsieh in a rebound from the board. Three foul shots by Waite would begin halftime with a score of 25-22 in Fountain Valley’s favor.
The third quarter opened with a fiery start by the Barons, who were successful in gaining the ball and scoring a layup by Dasani Pham and another two-point shot by Waite. Tran, in an insane steal, crossed the court and scored another two points with a layup. Maintaining a streak, Tran rebounded to gain another two points.
Halfway through the third quarter at 3:55, Irvine would score their first hoop with a free throw. A foul by Fountain Valley yielded two more points to Irvine. The remainder of the third quarter consisted of a traded double free throw by Tran and Irvine, ending the quarter with a score of 37-31.
Irvine embarked on the fourth quarter with the ball and a swift two-point shot. At 6:22, Hsieh wrestled for the ball but surrounded by three others, she lost it. A minute later, Irvine would score one point, followed up by Hsieh with a skilled three-pointer and Waite shooting a two-pointer.
Trading points, in foul shots by both Irvine and Fountain Valley, Irvine scored two points and Fountain Valley one. With a score of 43-37, Irvine began to narrow Fountain Valley’s lead with a double two-pointer.
In the final 30 seconds, Fountain Valley scored a two-pointer. However, this effort was for naught, with Irvine scoring two points with fifteen seconds left on the clock. The score is 45-43.
With ten seconds left, Irvine, in an attempt to retrieve the ball, committed multiple fouls. Hsieh made two free throws, solidifying Fountain Valley’s position with 4 seconds left on the clock. The game ended with a score of 47-43 in Fountain Valley’s favor.
“[Our game plan] was to get the ball into a big and then get the ball back to Sophie Hsieh. Knowing her ability with free throws, she sealed the deal with the two that she made, and that’s a big deal for anybody, but for a sophomore, that’s a really big deal,” Karp said.
The Barons will play their next game against South El Monte on December 6 at 8:00 p.m.
“I think our strength is the fact that we have a game every single day this week except Thursday. So with [the team] coming out and playing as hard as they did. I’m very happy with what they did,” Karp said. “And I don’t think that’s going to let up. So we know that we’ve got to look at the endurance of the whole week. And how it plays out. So, with them showing up the way they did tonight. I was very, very happy with them.”
