In a hotly contested game, the Wilcox varsity squad found a way to keep up an incredibly high level of energy through four quarters. Twin sisters Maison and Hali’a Yee both sparkled and junior captain Anna Neeley was always there for a big bucket. Neeley always seemed to stem the tide when the Bruins looked to sustain some momentum. While the Bruins kept things close through the first two quarters, trailing by just three at halftime, Santa Clara never found a way to pull any closer.
“Every game we have a lot of energy. Sometimes it’s hard to keep it all under control, but I tip my hat to our girls, they played well for the full 32 minutes,” noted Chargers Head Coach Justin Fujihara. “They managed to keep it together and not lose focus.”
While Maison Yee used her speed and creativity to open up passing and shooting lanes, her twin sister Hali’a Yee took advantage of the Bruins’ getting in foul trouble. Late in the second quarter with Santa Clara in the penalty, Hali’a Yee made a quick five-out-of-six free throws.
“Both Hali’a and Anna are really athletic and good at getting into the paint,” added coach Fujihara. “When we’re getting paint touches a lot of good things happen.”
“She does practice a lot of free throws. Even after practice she will put up a lot of extra shots,” noted Maison Yee on her sister. “I see her shooting at home too, she practices really hard to improve her game.”
As for the Bruins, the offensive struggles continue for a team that went undefeated a year ago during the league season. As a number of their key players graduated last year, opposing teams are now keying in on senior Yvonne Delgado and junior Kayleigh Watanabe.
It was a big boost for the Bruins to see a role player in Magali Urresti knock down multiple three pointers. On the first one, Urresti appeared to be shocked herself that she knocked down a three.
“That was the first three I’ve made this season, so I was kind of lost in the moment,” chuckled Urresti. “I was like ‘ya! That’s pretty cool!’”
“It was awesome to see that from her,” admitted Bruins Head Coach Deedee Kiyota. “She’s not usually the one to score, but she’s been working hard all season in practice. So we decided we wanted to get her in the game and see what she could do. When she does get in there it always seems to be positive. That’s her persona too, always positive thinking, wanting to do something, anything positive to help the team, and today it happened to be shooting.”
Both varsity teams will next take on Gunn. The Chargers will host Gunn on Jan. 23, but first the Bruins will travel to Palo Alto to take on the Titans on Jan. 19.