The Palo Alto girls’ basketball team was defeated, 45-50, by crosstown rival Gunn High School on Feb. 5.
After winning the opening tip-off, Paly managed to score the first two baskets, gaining the lead. However, the Titans came back in the second half of the first quarter, overtaking the Vikings and kept the lead throughout the rest of the first quarter (8-15).
At the top of the second quarter, the Vikings stepped up their game and ended up scoring 11 points. The intensity picked up as the Vikings caught up to the Titans but were still unable to overtake them. By the end of the second quarter, the Vikings trailed behind the Titans by two points, 19-21.
“We had some fouling troubles again,” junior forward Katerina Peterson said. “We let them score and we didn’t trap them in the post or help each other out as much.”
In the beginning of the third quarter, the Vikings came out strong and controlled the court, trying to make up for the previous quarter. The two teams rallied, fighting a back and forth battle as the teams took turns sharing the lead. Refusing to give up, the Vikings held their defense and made a couple of breakaways, attempting to overtake Gunn. By the end of the quarter, the Vikings were trailing by one point, 29-30.
“We came back but we just couldn’t get over the hurdle of getting a lead,” head coach Scott Peters said. “I think that would have helped us.”
Both teams rallied in the final quarter, and, with several minutes left on the clock, the Vikings followed Gunn with a five-point run. Gunn got multiple opportunities to shoot free throws because of fouling from the Vikings before pulling ahead to win the game.
“We’re playing in a really tough league,” Peters said. “We need to come out and play hard and we got to execute. That’s why we couldn’t get a lead over Gunn.”
After working hard and emphasizing defense, the team is now working on its offensive plays and reducing the amount of fouls per game, according to sophomore forward Emilee Osagiede.
“We played tough and hard throughout the game,” Osagiede said. “But we still need to work on our fouling.”
Despite the disappointing outcome of the game, Peters finds the high points of the game encouraging.
“We did a little zone against them and mixed up the defense a little bit but we didn’t execute the way we should have,” Peters said, “But I’m still happy about the way the girls played tonight.”
The Viking’s next home game will be against Mountain View at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9.