The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School women’s JV basketball team played against the Olympic Heights Community High School Lions on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The game took place at four p.m. at MSD.
This was the first game of the season for the Lady Eagles JV basketball team. The team is coached byEnglish teacher Amy Carr. With the small number of players on the JV team, several varsity players also made an appearance in the game. As it was the first game of the season for the Lady Eagles, this was the first ever high school game for many freshmen, who make up the majority of the JV team.
The game tipped off and the Lions won the jump ball, leading to an early score by Olympic Heights. The scoring continued as power forward Joni Van Eck (35) scored on the following possession for the Eagles.
“I did my best today getting rebounds and putting up shots,” J. Van Eck said. “Also, getting the ball out quickly to the point guards [after getting a rebound].”
Olympic Heights soon retook their lead, and the score was 7-2 with their couple of successful field goals. Shortly after, Daria Boykin (21) made a pair of shots, including a three-pointer as the time expired in the first quarter. The first eight minutes of the game ended in a 7-7 tie.
The second quarter began in favor of the Lions, as they knocked down a three pointer in their opening possession. However, these were the last points that they ended up scoring in the first half.
The Eagles seemed dominant in the paint, as they out-rebounded the Lions by plenty. Additionally, with scores by Gabriella Pino (5), J. Van Eck, point guard Ever Benjamin (11), Nabeeha Shaikh (22) and Naomi Grissette (23), the Eagles overtook the Lions lead, and held a 21-10 advantage entering halftime.
The second half began in a low scoring affair, as neither team was able to make a shot during the first five minutes of the third quarter. This was until Olympic Heights found a form of life on offense. Following a 12 minute scoring drought, the Lions went on a strong run to end the half. They scored on their last four possessions of the half and shut out the Lady Eagles in the quarter, shrinking the Eagles lead to just three points with a score of 21-18.
“We started messing up in the second half, but we got it together,” Benjamin said. “We could work on our communication skills on the court.”
The fourth quarter began with both teams unable to score in the first two minutes. With just six minutes left to play, Delaney Van Eck (13) scored the first points since the end of the first half for the Lady Eagles, extending their lead to 23-18. This shot jump started the Eagles as they continued to score and shut out the Lions in the final quarter. Fourth quarter shots were made by D. Van Eck, Pino, Benjamin and Georgia Polk (10), giving the Eagles a 34-18 victory over the Lions.
“I think they worked well together as a team and hustled,” Carr said. “They also played tremendous defense.”
Due to the shortage of women’s JV basketball teams across the state, this is the final home game of the season for the Lady Eagles JV squad. However, they will still play some games as they will be playing in a tournament at Coral Springs High School, at a future date and time.
