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They may be short, but they knowhow to work together.
With their teamwork and skill, theJV girls made it to the championship game at Kezar stadium on Feb. 12. Theylost the game to the Lincoln Mustangs 44-28, achieving the same position aslast year: second place in the city.
“We played hard and gave it our all most of the game, buttheir height advantage got us this time,” sophomore forward Salpi Siyahiansaid.
At the Feb. 10 playoffs, thebasketball team was up against their long-time rival, the Washington Eagles, towhom the girls previously lost at the Jan. 30 Battle of the Birds.This time, the game went in favor ofthe Cardinals, largely thanks to sophomore guard Katrina Liwanag who scored 17of the 42 points.“We played verywell with each other,” sophomore guard Vivian Lu said. “We each ran our playseffectively and played very strong defense. We shut down Washington’s offensethroughout the game and pressured the ball at all times. Defense was the key toour victory.”
The girls had worked hard allseason, posting an undefeated record up until their games against Lincoln onFeb. 6, and Washington on Jan 30.
The Cardinals met the Mustangs intheLowell home court on Feb. 6along with a collection of energized supporters. Even though the Cardinals weredown by six points a minute before the end of the game, the audience’sencouraging “Let’s go Lowell!” chant resounded through the court. The teamplayed hard and worked together, but ended up taking a 35-37 loss.
Was it bad luck? “We played reallywell against Lincoln,” Siyahian said. “We gave it our all and even though someunfair calls were made, we just got through it and kept playing our game. Itwas just an unlucky loss.”
The week before, the WashingtonEagles proved to be a tough competitor in the Battle of the Birds at KezarStadium. Though the Cardinals managed to stay ahead for most of the game,Washington tied the game with 27 seconds left. The Cardinals lost to the Eagleswith a final score of 28-29.
Some members of the team felt thatthey didn’t play their best against Washington. “(It) was an off day,”sophomore forward Chanel Piper said.“We didn’t play to our full potential.” Lu agreed. “The game overall was verydisappointing,” she said.
Despite the late-season losses, thegirls have many victories under their belts. The most memorable were their46-16 clobbering of Mission on Jan. 27 and their 56-8 domination of Galileo onJan. 13.
The team worked hard to get to the championship and although they didn'tget first place, they are happy to have had the experience. “I’m extremelyproud of our team for working harder than any (other team) this season,”Liwanag said. “They’re the most amazing players and friends that I have everhad the privilege of knowing
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