At the end of the first quarter, things looked bleak for the St. Francis Sharks in the SCCAL Championship at on Saturday afternoon. Finding themselves down 23-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Soquel Knights were cruising to what looked like an easy win. The Knights couldn't miss and were making some great shots on the offensive end.
The Sharks started to claw their way back into the game and by halftime, were only trailing 29-23, after outscoring Soquel 15-6 in the second quarter. The Sharks sorted some things out at halftime and came out stronger and more determined to stay in the game. By the end of the third quarter, the Sharks still trailed 40-33. In the fourth, St. Francis came alive and led by 6 points from Sophomore Lauren Price, they tied the game with 15 seconds left to play. The Sharks and Knights fought it out and ended regulation tied at 46-46.
The first overtime saw much of the same fight from both teams and both teams managed to squeeze out 5 points in the overtime quarter. Iva Lasich scored 4 of those points for the Sharks, being aggressive and attacking the basket. Tied at 51-51, the second overtime began much the same with both teams trading baskets and playing tough defense. The Knights were up by one when the Sharks got the ball back with 30 seconds left. After a timeout, St. Francis came out with a plan to burn some clock and then attack the basket on a drive. With 10 seconds on the clock, senior Iva Lasich drove to the basket and finished an amazing lay-up. As she hit the floor, the buzzer sounded and the Sharks were victorious, 56-55.
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A true team effort, every Shark who went into the game scored. Leading the team on the court and playing well beyond her sophomore status, Marissa Azua paced the offense with 17 points while grabbing 16 rebounds (nine offensive). Senior Iva Lasich scored 13 points, including the game winner and grabbed 14 rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Lauren Price scored 11 points and senior Chloe Brezsny chipped in six. Senior Gianna Azzaro scored 5 points, senior Nicole Fisher scored four points and Maria Barcells added one.
The Sharks will enjoy this victory and then prepare for CCS action next week at Pinewood High School.
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— Jennifer Watson, girls basketball coach
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