Shattered Hopes, Shattered Basket: MHS season comes to an end
The Monache girls basketball team had a solid year making its way to the quarterfinals for the 2023 CIF Central Section Girls Basketball Championships. The Lady Marauders had a tough game on Thursday at home with the Mission Oak Hawks taking the game 48-44. After the game was over, the eastern basketball hoop of the Marauders gym fell as its winch cable split and allowed the hoop to slam down into the court thankfully not harming any bystanders.
The Marauders led off with a strong lineup of Milly Rojas, Kyah Bartlett, Alisha Verdejo, Ariel Bermudez, and Shelley Andrade. The tip off went to the Marauders with a fast play thanks to Rojas taking the ball over to Verdejo.
A fast rebound by Bermudez brought the Marauders into their first scoring play with as she pushed down the court. Bermudez whipped the ball over to Andrade who handed it off to Verdejo for the layup.
Verdejo made a 3-point shot right after that with the help of a fast pass by Bartlett. With that the Marauders had the lead 5-2 and kept pushing their hardest. The second quarter was a hard time for the Marauders as the Hawks started to step up their offense. Thankfully for the Marauders Verdejo had a solid 3-pointer right in front of the Hawks defense keeping the score tight 13-12. The game was fierce as the second quarter ended.
A momentary ruckus from a few fans in the Mission Oak stands brought the Monache staff over to calm the rowdy members as they were escorted from the building. After that the game was back on with the Marauders getting their first layup with Shelley Andrade nailing a layup and then a free throw as she was fouled by a Hawk defender. The Hawks had a fire under them as they played their hearts out, and started hitting more baskets for a 10 point lead.
The Marauders Verdejo had a pivotal layup as the team kept the game close with Mission Oak leading 39-33.
The final quarter was just as hot as the first three as both teams tried to test each others might. The Marauders were fouled early on in the quarter and Verdejo sank one of her free throws to bring the Marauders just that much closer to the Hawks. Rojas had a beautiful 3-pointer as the clock ticked down thanks to a solid play started by Bartlett. Bartlett passed the ball into Rojas and they made their way down the court with the Hawks playing tough defense. Rojas sent the ball over the Hawks heads to London Haynes. Haynes made her way around the Hawks basket but couldn’t find an opening. She had to make a quick decision and she threw the ball quickly over to Ariel Bermudez to hand over to Rojas. Rojas was dead center in front of the Hawks key and she sank her 3-pointer with a swish leading to a roar of the crowd.
Time was running out and the Marauders final basket was scored by a solid offensive play from Rojas as she snagged the ball and made a layup right beneath the Hawks basket but it wasn’t enough.