First 8th Grade Girls’ Basketball Game Against Cedar Valley

Vedanti Patil and Ella Gonzales|November 17, 2022

The first 8th-grade girls’ basketball game of this school year took place on Nov. 10, 2022. The Canyon Vista Mustangs went against the Cedar Valley Jaguars.

During the first quarter, No. 31, Isabella Keckler, won the tipoff, and No. 13, Sanya Marian, scored the first basket of the game. No. 30, Julia Bae, scored two free throws. The first quarter ended with a score of 4-4.

In the second quarter, No. 22 from Cedar Valley blocked a shot from Canyon Vista, causing them to fall behind. At the buzzer marking the end of the second quarter, the score was 5-6.

In the third quarter, Canyon Vista quickly makes a comeback. At the end of this quarter, they were in the lead with a score of 11-8.

In the final quarter, Canyon Vista barely missed two shots, one at 6:06 and the other at 6:58, where the ball rolled on the rim of the hoop before falling off.

The last three minutes of the fourth quarter were intense; No. 21, Sophia Nikazm, and No. 31, Isabella Keckler, almost scored at 3:08. Less than a minute later, No. 5, Audrey Cassidy, scored a 2-pointer at 2:20, setting the score to 15-12. The final shot of the game was claimed by Canyon Vista, with No. 5, Audrey Cassidy, making another 2-pointer with only 51 seconds left on the clock. That set the final score to 17-12, resulting in an incredible win for the Canyon Vista Mustangs B-team.

“We need a lot more time to practice, like there’s a lot that we can improve on. But we learned a lot from the time that we did have to practice.” Audrey Cassidy, B-team’s No. 5 said . “The goal is to improve… Keep practicing, keep working hard, and keep winning!”

After B-team’s win, A-team arrived on the court. Canyon Vista started off great, but then Cedar Valley picked up their game. It was clear that they didn’t come to mess around. Even after multiple shots from Canyon Vista, they were still behind Cedar Valley. At the end of the second quarter, the score stood at 5-13. Canyon Vista played to win, but even their best players couldn’t defeat the Cedar Valley Jaguars. The buzzer for the end of the fourth quarter went off, and the Cedar Valley Jaguars defeated the Canyon Vista Mustangs with a score of 27-40.

“I’ll admit, that was definitely not my best game, but I’m glad I scored.” Maya Alas, the A-team starter said. “I need to be nailing all my shots and just, like, not letting people get in my head because the other team was getting in my head a little bit. Like, a lot of smack talk was happening on the court with me and all the teammates.”

Alas said she got four steals total and scored points for her own team throughout the game. Alas also plays with a club team, which contributes to her success and also gives her extra practice outside of school.

“I like what I saw out of our team and there is lots of potential. They’re a really talented team,” Coach Rogers said. “But overall, I’m really proud of the girls and what they were able to do.”

At the time of publication the next game is scheduled for Nov. 30, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. at Walsh Middle School.

More information about tickets and game schedules can be found at the Canyon Vista Athletics webpage.