Girls basketball came out strong with a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and used their momentum to bring home a victory against Rancho Bernardo, Feb. 4. The 60-36 win improved their league record to 7-1 on the season. Guard Makena McLaughlin (12) made 13 points throughout the game, and guard Mia Jacobson (12) made 18 points, making her the top scorer of the game. On top of their offensive strength, the Wolverines’ stifling defense helped to carry the team to victory.
McLaughlin said she went into the game positive that Westview would be able to win against Rancho Bernardo, considering the outcomes of their past games.
“I was pretty confident because this was our second matchup with RB and we already beat them the first time,” McLaughlin said. “I was proud when I hit my first three of the game. That felt pretty good. ”
Rancho Bernardo’s leading scorer, though, proved to be an obstacle for the Wolverines as her consistent offensive pushing tried to overwhelm Westview’s solid defense.
“Our main challenge for that game was to stop her,” McLaughlin said. “We played good defense, and we had to keep her off the boards so that they couldn’t get any rebounds.”
Jacobson said the team started communicating more effectively and maintained a strong defense to counter this.
“We communicated a lot more because even though there is only one person guarding her, it is still a team effort to make sure that if she gets by or if there’s a rebound, that we’re all communicating to stop her and watch where she’s going,” Jacobson said. “We focused on adjusting our defense to be able to stop her, and it helped us a lot more because we were able to stop that one player and focus on our offense. I think we would have been able to score a lot of points either way, but stopping her was the reason that we won the game.”
Westview increased its lead in the second quarter to 20 points, keeping the Wolverines in the lead for the remainder of the game and solidifying a cushioned lead before halftime.
Consistently, McLaughlin and Jacobson were able to keep putting points on the board for the Wolverines. Among the excitement, the team had to stay relaxed to help them focus on the game and not make unnecessary mistakes.
“We always try our best to stay as focused and calm as possible during a game,” Jacobson said. “Sometimes if you play too uptight, the team kind of falls apart, but I think when everyone was relaxed, that helped us to score a lot of points and play really well.”
The Wolverines, throughout the game, continued to display consistent defensive strength to help relieve additional pressure on the offense. The defensive sharpness also helped keep the Broncos from scoring over 40 points, a threshold generally strove for for girls basketball.
Jacobson said this game, in particular, was fun for the team because many players have friends on Rancho Bernardo’s team, fostering a healthy competitive environment.
“Having a competition where we could go at each other with no hard feelings was fun,” Jacobson said. “It was especially fun to go against them because we were able to try a move that we don’t usually do when playing Rancho Bernardo. The move is called an apple. I pass the ball off to Sarah Heyn, and then she takes it and passes it over the defense to me for me to score.”
Jacobson said that during the game, she was focused on locking down on defense.
“I was just trying to focus on the things I do best,” Jacobson said. “I wanted to be able to pass and help my team. Playing defense was a big one because even though I wasn’t on Rancho Bernardo’s main player, I was just trying to help my team and make sure she didn’t get by.”
McLaughlin said the game became more enjoyable as it progressed and Westview broadened its lead.
“I started to relax a bit more because we started to win by a lot more,” McLaughlin said. “It got more fun as the game went on because I got to watch my teammates succeed, and I was able to be hype with my teammates when I was on the bench. We were all supporting one another. It was fun to watch the non-starters play and cheer them on. They did really well because we were able to win by so much.”
