Girls’ basketball shuts out Monrovia 63-14

Story by Zoe Chen
Sports Editor

Photos by Kaitlyn Lee
Staff Photographer

Girls’ basketball played the Monrovia Wildcats on Friday, Jan. 17 in their first home league game of the season. 

Fouling, and consequently free throws, played an important role in the first quarter. South Pasadena’s defense prevented Monrovia from many chances to shoot, but the Tigers’ own ability to score faltered. Neither team scored in the first minute-and-a-half of the game. 

South Pasadena took the lead with a three-pointer from senior point guard Mia Leach. Leach commanded the court with coordinated passes and solid shots; another three from Leach brought the Tigers’ lead up to 11-2 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

The Tigers cleaned up their shots as the period wore on, but the Wildcats improved their already-solid defense. Monrovia was good at predicting South Pasadena’s intentions, but when the Tigers could catch the Wildcats off guard, the Wildcat defense was useless. The Tigers played off this, passing back-and-forth between prepared players to confuse the Wildcats. The strategy worked; three smooth passes between Leach, junior shooting guard Brylee Woo, and senior guard Milana Dumaua allowed Dumaua an unguarded three-pointer. By the time the first quarter was over, the Tigers led 19-2. 

Monrovia, again, scored only two points in the entire eight minutes of the second period; said points were gained from free throws, not Monrovia’s offensive capability. South Pasadena’s strength in their ability to rebound the ball, or perhaps Monrovia’s disability, was obvious. Almost the entirety of the period was spent near South Pasadena’s hoop, but South Pasadena’s shots were incredibly shaky. In combination with Monrovia’s unfading defensive wall, neither team scored for three straight minutes. Still, in preventing Monrovia from gaining any more than four points in the entire first half, the Tigers showcased their clear dominance over the Wildcats.

Sophomore guard Kara Wang broke the spell with a two-pointer that rolled on the rim before falling into the basket. The Tigers, having captured the game’s momentum, took off. Wang and Woo shot three more two-pointers in the quarter’s remaining three minutes. Monrovia, restless with their own lacking score, committed multiple fouls on South Pasadena. The Tigers gained two points from four free throw attempts and led 29-2. The half closed almost comically after the Tigers spent 80 seconds shooting, missing, rebounding, and repeating six times. 

The third quarter was much like the first and second. Both teams scored infrequently. Monrovia gained possession of the ball more often, but a good majority of their shots missed the hoop by multiple feet. Senior shooting guard Maddy Wong intercepted the ball after Monrovia failed to catch the ball from a passing teammate. Sophomore guard Ella Go raised the score to 35-4 with a smooth two-pointer. Not long after, Monrovia landed their second shot from the field of the game — this time a three-pointer — that brought the score to 37-7. 

Two two-pointers from Leach brought the Tigers’ lead to 44-8. Both teams seemed to lose steam, and scoring stopped for almost two minutes. Two free throws from Leach rounded out the third period with a whopping 46-9 Tiger advantage. 

“Our communication, and just honestly our chemistry, made such a difference today. Like when we cut, we know where we are, and we know where we’re going,” Leach said. 

South Pasadena’s ability to shoot and score drastically improved in the final four minutes of the final quarter. The Tigers took advantage of bounce passes to avoid Wildcat defenders and gained almost 20 points in the game’s finale. 

Wang gained the Tigers seven points in a matter of seconds with four back-to-back free throws and an immediate three-pointer. The home crowd erupted into an enthusiasm the game had not yet seen, and onlookers retained their excitement as more three-pointers from Leach and Dumaua sailed through the net. The game-ending buzzer, toned down by the roaring stands, sounded as the scoreboard flashed 63-14 for South Pasadena. 

“Our passing was really strong today, as a team. Our team chemistry really contributed to that,” Wang said. “After the fires and our season being pushed back, this win has felt like such a great way to reopen our season. It’ll be a good year — hopefully we can win league this year.”

Leach echoed a similar statement, saying, “[This win] feels so good because our games got canceled because of the fires, so it’s so good to be back. And we had a pretty easy game today, good way to start off.” 

Girls’ basketball will next face the Blair Vikings on the road on Friday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m.

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