By Milla Butler

Coming off a 6-2 record, the Mustangs were hopeful for another home game win before taking on the Pleasanton Bulldogs. Senior Katy Soucek provides her thoughts before hitting the court: “We knew it would be a harder game mentally because of the snow day the previous day, but all we needed to do was stay focused.” In the game’s first quarter, the Mustangs came out strong and took a five-point lead over the Bulldogs; the quarter ended 10-5. The next two quarters called for a bit of the same, the Mustangs’ momentum from the first quarter carrying over. The second and third quarters’ scores tallied 21-16 and 31-19, respectively. The Mustangs and Bulldogs, who hit three three-pointers in the last quarter of the game, had a big score jump in the fourth quarter, finishing the game out aggressively. After leading the game all four quarters, the Mustangs took the fourth and defeated the Bulldogs with a final score of 45-36. Soucek owes the team’s win to their actions of staying mentally focused and playing hard defense against the Bulldogs. This match improved the Mustangs’ winning record to 7-2, the team looking forward to taking on the Blue Hill Bobcats on Friday. “Against Blue Hill, we just have to stay focused. It is going to be a harder game because of the rivalry and because of how bad we both want to win, but staying focused on the game is the main goal,” Soucek adds. Leading the team in points against the Bulldogs were juniors Sophie Schmidt and MaKenna Karr, earning sixteen and eight points, respectively. Schmidt also led in three-pointers, with senior Paige Faimon trailing right behind. The Mustangs’ leaders in rebounds were senior Katy Soucek with twelve and Karr with eight. Next on the Mustangs’ schedule were the Blue Hill Bobcats, the always highly-anticipated rivalry game.
Going into their next game against the Bobcats, the Mustangs were hoping for another win to add to their record. Head coach Kate Sinsel explained their game plan, emphasizing that playing solid defense against the Bobcats was a main key in shutting down some of their scorers. The first quarter rolled around and the Mustangs started strong and ready to play. The first quarter ended with a two-point lead, the score 8-6. The beginning of the game’s momentum carried into the next two quarters, the Mustangs leading and ending the second and third quarters 15-7 and 25-13, respectively. The fourth quarter called for a bit of the same, with the Mustangs maintaining the lead throughout. The final score of the rivalry showdown against the Bobcats ended 33-19, adding yet another win to the Mustangs’ winning record. Sinsel comments, “We executed really well against Blue Hill by following our game plan. Every girl on the floor contributed defensively; however, MaKenna Karr, Sophie Schmidt, and Katy Soucek did an exceptional job of shutting down some really good players from Blue Hill.” Lead scorers for the Mustangs include juniors mentioned above, Schmidt and Karr. Both players racked up eleven points each for the team. Schmidt also led the team in rebounds, gathering eight of her own. Sinsel adds, “I felt like the biggest advantage that we had over Blue Hill was that we kept our composure really well. I also thought we rebounded well and again, played really solid half-court defense.”