The Wilcox Chargers varsity basketball squad evened up its early season record at 2-2 Tuesday night with a 48-41 victory over visiting Scotts Valley. Wilcox jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the first half with a diverse set of scorers. Guards Dexie Medida and Carissa Quistian each drained jumpers from behind the arc while Claire Sugrue added a layup and Shriya Ratnani knocked down both her free throws.
It appeared as if the Chargers had the game under control, but then Scotts Valley switched to a full-court press and caught Wilcox off guard. The Falcons immediately went on a 10-0 run to not only get back into the game but soar back in front 17-15.
“The full-court press had us getting sped up,” admitted Medida on allowing the Falcons back in the game. “But we kept our composure at the end and got the win.”
It was Medida’s free throws at the very end of the second quarter that tied things back up at 17-17 going into halftime. Overall, the Chargers’ junior guard finished with a team-high 21 points. With Wilcox having graduated eight seniors from last season’s rotation, the Chargers will have to rely even more on Medida in her second year on varsity.
“It has been a work in progress with her taking on an even bigger role,” remarked Head Coach Justin Fujihara. “We graduated eight seniors last year and they were all in the rotation. She had a great opportunity to play alongside all of them and learn from them. But now it’s time for her to step into a bigger role. It’s been an adjustment for her, I think she understands that becoming the leader and taking the front seat to move us forward, it’s not easy.”
Medida sure made it look easy on Tuesday when she threw up a prayer three pointer just prior to the shot clock expiring and still managed to drain the bucket and increase the Chargers’ lead to 46-32.
“Dexie is a really good player and I love playing with her; our chemistry together is terrific. We’ve been playing together since middle school,” chimed Chargers center Evelyn Edwards, who completed a three-point play off a nice pass inside from Medida. “We definitely have a strong bond. She’s a really good point guard. Her basketball IQ is amazing.”
Edwards, Sugrue and Ratnani among other front-court players will have big shoes to fill this season. Among the eight seniors from last year’s team who graduated were the physically imposing forward/center combo of Addy Munoz and Gielle Holubiczko. At least on Tuesday, the Chargers seemed to fill those shoes admirably as they were impressive on the offensive glass.
“We are just trying to work as hard as we can. We know we’re not as big and strong as they were, but we have good quickness,” noted Edwards. “Definitely huge shoes to fill with rebounding and bodying up bigger players, but I think we can do it; we just need to keep working hard.”
Wilcox will look to keep up the hard work and improve to 3-2 on the season when they host Leland on Saturday, Dec. 9.