Andrew Bensch

Wilcox Wins Wildly Entertaining Game, 56-50 Over Palo Alto

Tuesday, Feb. 11, the date of an epic Wilcox Chargers senior night for the girls’ basketball team. The raucous home crowd was treated to an incredibly thrilling win. One could not have scripted more edge-of-your-seat, back-and-forth action over four quarters of basketball.

This fiercely contested court battle had the Chargers and Palo Alto Vikings trading buckets from the opening tip. Through most of the first three quarters, neither side held a lead larger than four.

While Wilcox eventually opened up a six-point lead heading into the fourth, the Vikings rallied in the final frame. Palo Alto would pull within in a single point halfway through the quarter. After the Chargers increased the lead back to four with just over two minutes to go, Palo Alto again cut the deficit down to a one-possession game (51-50) with under a minute to play.

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That’s when Chargers’ leading scorer, Dexie Medida came up with a steal and drained some clock before drawing a flagrant foul. Two free throws and possession. Game. Set. Match.

“In these types of situations, obviously, there is going to be a lot of pressure,” remarked Medida on her final steal and free throws. “But throughout four years of high school, you kind of learn how to have that sense of composure. Throughout that whole last minute, I was just like, ‘I have to keep my head together. Be simple. Make sure I don’t throw a bad pass. Stay composed. Trust myself and be confident.’”

Confident she was, coming in clutch.

“It was a good veteran move from her to be able to get the ball and come up with that steal,” chimed Wilcox Head Coach Justin Fujihara. “We said early on as a team that the goal wasn’t necessarily to score more points, but to get stops.”

Getting those stops requires excellent rebounding, and the Chargers’ Evelyn Edwards was matched up with the Vikings’ strongest inside presence all night long. The senior did a phenomenal job defending the rim.

“She seeks out every opponent’s best rebounder and tries to outwork them in every area,” praised Fujihara on Edwards. “Whether it’s a ball coming off the rim, offensively or defensively, loose ball, 50-50 ball, she has made it a point to make that part of her game. She’s also grown her offensive game a lot this season, too.”

Edwards isn’t the only impressive big for the Chargers. Both Shriya Ratnani and Sharanya Salvadi have made huge strides this season in providing extra paint scoring for the Chargers.

“We’ve come a long way from last season, and tonight things really came together,” noted Ratnani, whose spin-o-rama layup gave the Chargers their first lead of the night, 17-16. “In the past, we’ve struggled closing out games, but we really improved in that area tonight.”

“That spin move!? Oh yeah, that was awesome,” exclaimed Medida on Ratnani’s highlight reel bucket. “Oh, Shriya, by far the most improved player on the team. That spin move, she’s been working hard on those moves every day in practice and in the game. I trust that she’s going to make them.”

In her senior year, Medida is having the most fun she’s ever had.

“I’m having so much fun, the chemistry is better, everyone trusts each other more,” Medida. “This season has been the best one so far.”

“It has been really fun for me as a coach,” added Fujihara. “Especially since it was relatively the same group that was struggling last year. A lot of fun to see that kind of growth and maturity.”

Wilcox Wins Wildly Entertaining Game, 56-50 Over Palo Alto

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