By Riley Segal
Staff Writer
Photos by Thomas Forman
The girls’ basketball team demolished Monrovia 66-18 in an away matchup on Thursday, February 11. This victory puts the Tigers’ league record at 8-2 and 14-6 overall, allowing them to secure second place in Rio Hondo.
South Pas came out strong in the beginning of the first quarter. Senior Kristen Kafkaloff made several runs to the basket, amassing 17 points in the first quarter. The Wildcats struggled to match the Tigers’ intensity, and a majority of Monrovia’s passes were flung out of bounds. South Pas held the Wildcats scoreless, finishing the quarter 22-0.
The Tigers opened the second quarter with three consecutive three pointers from Kafkaloff and junior Juliana Tom. South Pas displayed a dominating offensive attack, and earned 39 points total before Monrovia was able to score. The Wildcats were able to garner a few more points before the quarter ended at a score of 39-7.
Coming into the second half, junior Jalynne Li immediately sank a three. The Tigers continued to pound the Wildcat defense, and held Monrovia to three points in turn. Given the daunting lead, Kafkaloff was substituted out. Tom continued make multiple threes throughout the quarter, increasing the lead. Junior Jade Lin was helped off the court after being shoved by a Monrovia player before the third quarter ended at 54-10.
Monrovia scored the first basket of the final quarter, but Tom quickly responded with a three. Tom would be the only Tiger scorer in the fourth quarter, which would finish the game at 66-18.
“We knew going into this game that it was really important because it’s our last game before CIF,” Kafkaloff said. “We just took that mindset and put it all out there for our last league game.”
The Tigers look to continue on their winning streak in CIF, and their first CIF game is still to be determined.
