The Carlmont varsity girls basketball team ended their last home game with a 57-39 loss to Half Moon Bay during their senior night on Feb. 6. Even with a loss, the Scots held positivity and were happy that their seniors were able to play a final home game while representing their school.
The Scots were unable to get off to a strong start after the Cougars scored the first two points. Near the end of the first quarter, the Scots gained momentum, with senior Emerson Barajas scoring her first point, while the Cougars were still ahead 18-14.
“Coach Rich has great sets that he runs, so we had to adjust to a couple of their sets defending them,” said Half Moon Bay head coach Megan Smith.
In the second-to-last game of the season, the seniors were able to play together. They hope to place high in the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championships.
“They’re all self-motivated and dedicated athletes, so it doesn’t really need a coach to get them motivated or dedicated,” said head coach Richard Stephens.
Coming into the game, the Scots were confident after their close game against the Cougars last time.
“We played Half Moon Bay the other time and had them in overtime. So I was pretty confident that we could have beaten them,” said senior Tia Helmy.
In the second quarter, the Cougars hit their stride, taking a 33-17 lead over the Scots. Throughout the quarter, coach Richard Stephens called timeouts to regroup the team and slow the pace.
The Scots did not score any points from the field for the remaining time in the second quarter, except for the 3-pointer at the start of the quarter.
“I always try to be there for the team as they’re there for me. If they are going through a hard time or had a hard game, I let them know that they’ll do better next time and that they’re still good enough,” said senior Justine Desmidt.
Coming out of halftime, the Scots were fired up. Sophomore Mia Masukawa scored multiple 3-pointers, while sophomore London Greene scored many points from layups. Also, junior Emily Monteforte made all her free throws. Even with full effort from the Scots, the Cougars held on to win 57-39.
“I think overall, there are a lot of improvements, as always, but I’m still proud of everything my teammates and I did,” Desmidt said.
