Our gurlies secured a second win against MJC with a score of 50-13 on Friday, 27 April.
Our team started the game out strong from the tip-off, scoring 19 points in the first quarter. Our opponents committed several turnovers, and our team capitalised on their mistakes and scored many fast break points. Patricia Orenza (#27) also had a hot shooting streak early on, making three 3-pointers in the first half.
Our team stepped up on our defence, applying more pressure on our opponents. Our efforts were not wasted, as this forced the opponents to commit more turnovers. This in turn gave us more opportunities to work on our transition offense and we moved the ball up court quickly to score easy baskets.
On the other hand, our opponents found difficulty penetrating our coordinated defence, often making forced attempts on the last second of the shot clock. This lowered their percentages of scoring throughout all four quarters.
Patricia Orenza (#27) registered a team high 18 points and 5 steals. Center Zhu Yezi (#77) dominated the boards, grabbing 8 rebounds in total, 5 of which were offensive rebounds. Rhianne Vaz (#7) also contributed to the team significantly, driving in strong to the basketball and putting in 13 points. Shannon Tiong (#15) grabbed 6 rebounds and had 4 blocks, putting in solid work on the defensive end. Sofia Tan (#13) and Aw Han Xi (#3) showed their hustle, having 6 and 4 steals respectively.
The team ran hard and focused on our defence, stopping our opponents and allowing us to gain momentum offensively. We definitely have improved from the previous game, considering we were against stronger opponents, and this bodes well for our season. Our team will continue to get stronger and fight harder in the upcoming games.
With this win, the girls have secured a position in the next stage of quarterfinals. Their last game of the first round will be on Monday, 30 April, against NYJC at 2pm. This should be a good gauge of how our team has progressed and where we stand.