Playing without one of their leading seniors, the Palo Alto High School girls’ basketball team (16-3) maintained its stellar record with a fast-paced 62-36 victory over the Mountain View Spartans (6-13) on Monday night.  

The Vikings played aggressively throughout the game, taking any opportunity they could to make a shot. Carly Martin and Annika Shah were two players who stood out, but according to Shah, the victory would not have been possible if the whole team hadn’t stepped up, especially because senior Ellie Jeffries was out.

“Since Ellie is out sick, everyone had to step up and we did that today,” Shah said. “We’re just looking forward to getting better every day and taking on Cupertino next.”

By the second quarter, the Vikings’ defense became more aggressive, denying the Spartans the opportunity to land successful shots.

By halftime, the Vikings led 25-13.

Entering the third quarter, the Spartans stepped up their energy and began looking for a comeback. They made the majority of their free throws and a few other shots, but the Vikings didn’t blink.

Senior Lauren Daniel helped Paly stay in the lead during the second half of the game by making four shots.

“In the first half I kept missing all my shots,” Daniel said. “But they told me to keep shooting and it worked.”

In the last few minutes of the game, the Vikings kept up their energy and made a couple of successful shots, but the Spartans were almost equally as intense.

In the last 30 seconds, Sophomore Ilayda Turgut made one last shot for the Vikings and the victory was sealed.

The Vikings feel confident going into their next game against Cupertino (13-7).

“They’re [Cupertino] coming to our house, we’re not gonna let them beat us,” Shah said. “We have a lot of momentum and we’re gonna keep it going.”

The Vikings will face Cupertino at 7 p.m on Wednesday at Paly in the Peery Family Center large gym.