The Eagles JV Girls' basketball team commenced their 2021 season as hosts to the Yuma Catholic Shamrocks on Friday afternoon. Coach Alan Mitchell sent out sophomore Ana Faustinos (#32) to lead the squad with freshmen Bree Tobin (#3), Julia Claus (#10), Ashlyn Fink (#25) and Izzy Thiessen (#30) in their first high school game.
Izzy Thiessen won the tip, and Julia Claus opened the scoring with three-pointers from both wings. Bree Tobin scored from the charity stripe as Coach Mitchell fed a judicious helping of more experienced help for the freshmen, with juniors Savannah Cardona (#22), Allyson Lund (#11) and Brooke Hancock (#4) rotating in to direct traffic throughout the match.
The freshmen were worth their minutes, and Izzy Thieseen and Bree Tobin combined to force repeated turnovers inside, Ashlyn Fink played ferocious defense until turning her ankle, and Julia Claus was unrelenting in her assault from deep as the Eagles finished the first quarter ahead 9-2.
The Shamrocks brought the full-court press in the second quarter, but Ana Faustinos broke it to find Izzy Thiessen for the layup and Bree Tobin for the short-corner jumper. With Julia Claus and Izzy Thiessen filling the lanes, the Eagles' fast break stretched the Yuma defense and provided many opportunities for easy buckets. SCA spread their offense across the shot chart with Julia Claus from distance, Bree Tobin attempting a plethora of long twos, and Izzy Thiessen working her jumper inside.
With the score 19-14 in favor of SCA to start the second half, the Eagles continued to make use of the fast break under the direction of Ana Faustinos, with Bree Tobin scoring both from open play and the free throw line as SCA finished ahead 25-18 after three.
Using a half-court press and trapping hard in the fourth quarter, SCA forced many turnovers leading to breakaways for Ana Faustinos, Bree Tobin and Izzy Thiessen, and Julia Claus knocked down another three as the Eagles pulled away to a 41-21 victory.
Join the SCA JV Girls' Basketball Team as they travel south to Chandler Prep on Tuesday, January 26 at 3:00PM.