Following their loss against the Lowell Cardinals in the first game of the Lincoln High School tournament, Carlmont’s varsity girls basketball team dunked on the Balboa Buccaneers in a striking 54-7 win on Friday.
The Scots kept a lead from start to finish, powered by an aggressive offense and a resilient defense.
“Especially compared to our last game, we did the things we needed to do. We boxed out, didn’t have many turnovers, and made the adjustments we needed to,” said junior Willow Ishibashi-To.
The defense started strong with multiple blocks from junior Mischa Duggal and senior Inaaya Omer, shutting down any attempts at scoring by the Buccaneers. Senior Sydney Tao set the tone on the offensive side, making a basket within minutes of the first quarter.
“Each of our players has a role to play. Whether you’re a starter, or if you’re on the bench, or even if you’re injured, everyone has something to contribute,” Duggal said.
The team worked hard to maintain their lead early on, with multiple players contributing to the score. Freshman Sky Yee scored back-to-back baskets in the first quarter and a three-pointer in the second.
Other players added as well, with sophomore Emerson Barajas finding the hoop in the second quarter and Ishibashi-To adding another five points.
Keeping this energy throughout the first half, Omer scored a final basket before the end of the first half, ending in a decisive 33-4.
“Energy is really important. If the energy is lacking, I try to be the loudest person on the team, either on the court or the bench. Even if something isn’t going well, we don’t want that to snowball and have our energy affect our performance,” Ishibashi-To said.
Continuing the onslaught, the Scots picked up where they left off in the second half.
Omer and Ishibashi-To contributed eight points in the third quarter as well as two more from freshman Addison Glover.
“During the game, I try to focus on where I need to be for different plays. We play as we practice, and we’re always trying to get better,” Glover said.
In the final quarter, Glover made another basket, followed by a three-pointer from freshman Emily Monteforte, and the game ended with a final basket from junior Cyan Yee.
“My mindset going into the rest of the tournament is to play hard. Just focusing on the little things because the little things will win us the games,” Monteforte said.
As the Scots gear up for the rest of the tournament, players are determined to use this victory to continue improving for future games.
“Tomorrow, we need to keep up the energy. It’s easy to come back and not make those same adjustments we did for this game. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for us to learn from this game and apply it even more,” Ishibashi-To said.
