In the team’s first home game of the season, the Palo Alto High School girls’ basketball team (2-3) defeated the James Lick Comets (0-4) in a dominating defensive game, 56-14, Friday night.
From winning zero games last year to gaining their second win so far, the Vikings are starting their season off strong.
According to Viking head coach Kevin Blunt, his main goal this year is to develop the young team.
“This year is about them learning because a lot of them just played middle school basketball last year,” Blunt said. “It’s a big jump, so I’m trying to teach them how to process all that in real-time, but also make sure that they stay firm, stay confident.”
The game began with several baskets scored by Vikings’ freshman point guard Sophie Li. Continuing their momentum, the Vikings dominated the first quarter defensively, only allowing the Comets to score five points, ending the first quarter 14-5.
According to Viking freshman guard Abigail Neumann, Li was the star of the game.
“I think Sophie played best this game,” Neumann said. “She had 19 points and just played really well the whole game.”
In the second quarter, the Vikings continued to control the game with their aggressive defense. Steal after steal, the Vikings forced turnovers, shutting out the Comets. The Vikings continued to dominate both sides of the ball scoring 15 in the quarter, leading 29-5 at halftime.
Li said the Vikings’ defense helped them build up a lead.
“I think a lot of it is about making the right read and just being there and trying to predict where the ball is gonna go,” Li said. “I also think our team did really good with steals. We were up in the passing lanes, being really aggressive, and that definitely led to a lot of our points.”
The Vikings began the third quarter with eight consecutive points. Li led the offensive charge, scoring nine points alone in the third quarter. The Comets, pushing past the Vikings’ defense, got on the board scoring three points. Not letting their lead slip, the Vikings continued their charge, scoring 22 points in the third quarter, leading 51-8 at the end of the quarter.
The Comets scored five points in the fourth quarter, their highest since the first quarter. The Vikings cooled off, scoring just five, 3 of which on a three-pointer by Freshman forward Elenor Wells. Defeating the Comets, 56-13, the Vikings improve to 2-2 on the season.
Blunt said defensive objections motivated the Vikings through the second half.
“When we came out at half, we saw they had six points,” Blunt said. “So we were trying to hold them to 12 points for the rest of the game, and I think they scored 13 points. So we came close to our goal.”
Comets coach AJ Rivera said his team is working on an offensive strategy.
“Right now we’re still trying to find our identity in certain things, especially when it comes to running our offense,” Rivera said. “Today was just about finishing plays, and there were a lot of shots they got up.”
According to Li, the Vikings will have to keep playing at this level to beat their upcoming opponents.
“I think moving forward, we’re gonna play a lot of teams that are tougher, bigger and stronger. But, if everyone does what they’re supposed to do, and we work together as a cohesive unit, we can win a lot of games, even against teams that are more experienced,” Li said.
The Vikings will face the Lynbrook Vikings (1-2) 6 p.m. Thursday at home.
