On Thursday Feb. 6, the Archie Williams girls varsity basketball team took on the Redwood High School Giants during their last league game at home and on Archie William’s senior night. Though the Falcons fought hard, Redwood walked away with a win, ending the game with a score of 55-41
The game started with Redwood winning the tip-off and scoring the first points of the game only moments after, giving them momentum for the rest of the quarter. The Falcons, though starting off slow, soon gained their own momentum with senior Kaeley Sullivan scoring the Falcon’s first points of the game during the fifth minute.
The second quarter displayed much of the same offensive dominance from the Giants. Archie Williams began to see some offensive flow, but not enough to cut the lead. Redwood extended their lead 37-12 by the end of the second quarter.
Halftime offered quite the entertainment for viewers as both the Archie Williams dance troupe and the Redwood cheer squad performed. The dance troupe exhibited an exhilarating performance followed by Redwood cheer’s impressive routine.
The third quarter began with exciting energy as Archie Williams junior Lila Peterson scored two three-pointers during the sixth minute. Though Archie Williams was picking up their energy, the Giants continued to play smart and energetic, taking a comfortable lead 26-49 at the end of the third.
The Falcons kept up the momentum as Archie Williams senior Carolyn Morris stole the ball with three minutes left and completed an assist to sophomore Reece Patton, adding three points to the board for Archie Williams.
“That built up my excitement, I was just really excited for this last [league] game and I was really wanting to just get out there and just play and leave it all on the court,” Reece said.
During the second half, the Falcons fought hard to close the gap between them and the leading Giants. Unfortunately, the gap was too large and the game ended as a win for Redwood with a score of 55-41
Archie Williams junior Delphina Dong believes the real goal of the game is that it was a day to celebrate and have fun with the graduating seniors.
“I feel really good, I thought we picked it up in the second half, and I thought the environment was really good, and I overall think that all the seniors had a lot of fun which is the most important thing,” Delphina said.
After the game finished, Archie Williams celebrated the seniors on both the girls and the boy’s teams with shout-outs, pictures with their families, and posters commemorating their legacy and dedication to the team throughout their high school years.
“For me, my focus tonight was really on the seniors, and wanting to have fun with them, and honor them, and celebrate them and I think we did that,” said Archie Williams girls basketball coach Zach Wahle.
The Archie Williams girls basketball season is not ending with this loss, as they are now preparing for the MCAL and North Coast Section Championships. The Falcon’s next game is 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10 for Round 1 of the MCAL championship against San Marin High School.
“We’re looking forward to riding the last chapter of the season, the story of our seasons not done yet and we get to have the opportunity to work and fight and decide how that ends,” Wahle said.
