By Milla Butler
Coming into the season playing their eighth game, the lady Mustangs were eager to defeat the Pleasanton Bulldogs. Coming off of a 7-3 record, the girls were celebratory after taking their eighth win, the final score tallying 38-44. With the Bulldogs ahead in the first quarter with a score of 9-7, the Mustangs were determined to advance to the top. After working hard to progress in the next three quarters, the second and third-quarter scores were 6-8 and 9-15. Though the Mustangs pushed through their opponents’ tough competition, the Bulldogs eventually caught up, rounding up the score of the third quarter to 14-14. Leading the team in offense was senior Georgi tenBensel, scoring 22 points, and sophomore Emma Schmidt, scoring 8 points. Also contributing on offense was freshman Makenna Karr, putting up 5 offensive rebounds. Defensive leaders for the Mustangs include tenBensel and freshman Sophie Schmidt, contributing 5 and 7 defensive rebounds. Triumphant after improving their season record, senior and captain Samantha Bonifas commented, “I am very impressed with the way that our team handled Pleasanton’s pressure. It was a great win because we played as a team for the entire 32 minutes. I am beyond proud of that. I am looking forward to developing our basketball minds as we move on. In close game situations, there are so many decisions that have to be made and they have to be smart. With conference and post-season coming up, we will need to be sharp on knowing what to do and when in the end of a close game.”
Coming off of their win against the Pleasanton Bulldogs, the Mustangs were eager to take on their next opponent, the Harvard Cardinals. The Mustangs put up a strong fight in each quarter, leading the game in the first quarter with a score of 10-6. The second and third quarters were still in the Mustangs’ favor, the scores tallying 12-5 and 10-3. The Cardinals picked up their game in the last quarter, they outscored the Mustangs by 2, scoring 7 points to the Mustangs’ 5. The final score ended 21-37 with the Mustangs on top. Leading scorers for the Mustangs include Emma Schmidt with 11 points, sophomore Katy Soucek with 8 points, and Karr with 6. Karr led the team in both offensive and defensive rebounds, putting up 6 offensive and 4 defensive.