The girls’ basketball team avenged its Battle of the Birds defeat — its only loss of the regular season — to claim a second straight AAA championship title with a 50-40 win over the Washington Eagles on March 4.

Fueled by their disappointing 3-point loss in the Jan. 21 game, the Cardinals quickly asserted themselves in the championship game at the opening tip-off, building a comfortable 14-5 lead by the end of the first quarter.

In the midst of the highly charged atmosphere, the young Cardinals showed their maturity and stellar improvements on defense, forcing 19 turnovers from the Eagles. By only the third quarter, the Cardinals had put the Eagles in the double-bonus situation by committing 10 second-half team fouls, allowing the Eagles to take two free-throws for every Cardinal foul after. However, the Cardinals stayed composed and did not allow Washington to take advantage of the double-bonus.

The Cardinal underclassmen put aside concerns of inexperience to set the momentum. Sophomore guard Angie Ng started in place of injured regular season starter junior Natalie Moy, and led the team in scoring with 13 points. Fellow sophomores, center Lorna Tu’ufuli and second-string guard Katarina Lum, followed with 12 and 11 points, respectively.