Nick Lee
Staff Writer
With time winding down in the championship game and the whole crowd on their feet, Costa attempts a last second shot.
In the annual winter break tournament in La Jolla, the girls basketball team took second place, finishing with a record of 3-1. The mustangs came out of the gate strong, defeating their first round opponent, La Jolla Country Day(9-6), 50-37. For the entire first half of the game, the Torreys were neck and neck with the Mustangs. Costa finished the half with a six point lead.
“We started off with no energy,” Senior Devon Feaster said. “We allowed too many offensive rebounds, which gave the other team too many second chances.”
However in the second half, Costa seemed reenergize and inputted their full court press. They shut down the Torrey offense, allowing them to score 13 points in the second half. Sophomores Halle Maeda and Allie Navarette carried the team with a combined total of 35 points.
“We started pressing them in the second half, which forced many turnovers,” Senior Erin Winett said. “We also started knocking down our shots, which gave us an easy win.”
The next day, Costa faced off against Mount Miguel in a nail-biting game that ended 49-46. The Mustangs controlled the beginning of the game and had a study lead over Matadors, ending the first half 27-21.
“We were able to use our height to our advantage,” Feaster said. “We got many offensive rebounds, which played a big part in our win.”
In the third quarter, the Matadors rallied to bring themselves back into the game. The Matadors dug themselves out of their hole and brought the game within three points. The match came down to a last second shot by the Matadors to tie the game; however it was off its mark.
“After a strong first half we slowed down and took some bad shots that let them back into the game.” Winett said.
In the semi finals game against the Valencia Vikings(11-5), the Mustangs defeated their opponents 55-51, qualifying for the championship. Costa held the lead the entire game, and thwarted the Vikings comeback attempt in the fourth quarter.
“We knocked down some shots early in the game that gave us a nice lead,” Winett said. “They rallied at the end, which made it a close game.”
In the championship game, Costa fell to Bishop Gordon(12-2) 43-40. The Mustangs had a lead of six over the Gaels in the first quarter; however the Gaels dominated every aspect in the second quarter scoring 17 points giving them a solid lead.
“We came out strong but we ran out of gas in the second quarter,” Feaster said. “We had a lot of trouble guarding their perimeter shots, which did a lot of damage.”
The Mustangs came back in the fourth quarter and brought the game within three points. With time winding down, Costa threw up a last second shot to tie the game, but missed, ending the game 43-40.
“We gave up way many points early in the game,” Feaster said. “It made it really difficult to try to come back when we were down by so much.”
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