The SCA Varsity Girls' Basketball Team played host to the Phoenix Country Day School Eagles on Saturday afternoon, as the originally scheduled Trivium Prep Crimson Knights were forced to cancel due to Covid-19 quarantines.
Similarly hampered with injuries and quarantines, Coach Alan Mitchell chose a starting lineup of senior Kathryn Dick (#35), juniors Savannah Cardona (#22) and Lily Richardson (#44) along with sophomore Ana Faustinos (#32) and freshman Bree Tobin (#3) and to face their AIA 2A Metro Region rivals.
SCA started off the game brightly, with Savannah Cardona and Kathryn Dick earning trips to the foul line, Lily Richardson knocking down a three, and Kathryn Dick beginning a long night of owning and operating the post with good entry passes from Savannah Cardona. Visitors Country Day kept pace with some fortunate shots as SCA lead 9-8 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, the home team began to struggle from the field, unable to convert multiple good looks from three and seemingly unable to draw any fouls on contested shots inside. The visitors, meanwhile, were able to operate more effectively to knock down opportunities and enjoyed success from wilder shots as well. Freshman Julia Claus (#10) entered the game to compete for rebounds inside, but SCA went into the half down 13-18.
After some half-time changes to the SCA attack, the hosts began to score at will in the third quarter. Kathryn Dick’s scoring campaign in the lane was supported by good entry passing from Ana Faustinos and Savannah Cardona, and Savannah also helped herself on the break and with opportunistic offensive put-backs. Bree Tobin and Ana Faustinos converted further rebounding opportunities, and Kathryn Dick closed off the quarter’s scoring with an okie-doke that sent everyone on the court the wrong way to outscore the guests and close the gap.
Down 25-31 to begin the fourth quarter, the SCA girls shifted their offense into high gear and outscored their opponents again with a barrage of three-pointers from Savannah Cardona and an ongoing series of inside scores from Kathryn Dick as their offensive sets ran smoothly and easily. Bree Tobin finished off the fast break to draw SCA within two points in the final minute, but it wasn’t quite enough to overcome the second quarter’s cold shooting, and SCA ultimately fell to PCDS 39-43 for their first loss in regional play.
Join the SCA Varsity Girls' Basketball Team as they journey south of the Rio Salado to challenge the number one-ranked Class 2A team, the Arizona Lutheran Academy Coyotes on Wednesday, February 10 at 6:00PM.