A strong second half led to a signature non-league victory for the Dos Pueblos High girls’ basketball team.
Freshman Kindah Ahmad-Reda and senior Lauren Robles combined for 37 points and the Chargers overcame a 31-26 halftime deficit to defeat visiting Oaks Christian 69-64 on Friday night at Sovine Gym.
“It has been a long process, but I feel like they are starting to gel a little bit more and we’re starting to come together,” said Dos Pueblos High coach Manny Murillo. “I feel our second half kind of displayed that. We stayed level headed.”
Oaks Christian took control of the game early in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Faith O’Daniel increased the Lions lead to 15-7 midway through the period. A corner three-pointer by Presley Kushner with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter extended the Oaks Christian lead to 22-13.
Back-to-back baskets inside by Hanah Remick late in the second quarter helped the Chargers chip away and cut the deficit to 31-26 at halftime.
The Dos Pueblos program is known for developing excellent three-point shooters, but the Chargers failed to make a shot from long distance in the first half.
“I feel like we got a lot of good shots. That was the first time we’ve ever played a half without making a three-pointer,” Murillo said. “The message at halftime was the same as the beginning of the game. Stick to our gameplan, continue doing what we are doing. We got the looks we wanted and I knew they were going to fall in the second half.”
After going scoreless in the first half Robles caught fire and made five three-pointers in the second half. A corner three-pointer by Robles gave Dos Pueblos its first lead, 48-47, at the 7:15 mark of the fourth quarter.
The two teams went back and forth for the remainder of the fourth quarter. Ahmad-Reda found Asha Nayak for a layup that put Dos Pueblos ahead 54-49 with just under six minutes remaining.
A layup by Oaks Christian’s Sophia Wamba tied the score at 56-56 with 3:35 remaining in the game. On the ensuing possession Nayak was fouled on a drive to the rim and a technical foul was assessed against the Oaks Christian bench. Dos Pueblos converted all four free throws to take a 60-56 lead with 3:13 remaining.
The Lions responded with a quick 5-0 run capped off by a three-point play by Kushner that put them ahead 61-60 with 2:23 left in the game.
Robles came through in the clutch with a deep three-pointer that put Dos Pueblos back ahead 63-61 with 1:30 remaining. However, Oaks Christian responded with another three-point play, this time by senior point guard Sarah Le.
With 36 seconds to play, Robles knocked down a corner three-pointer to put Dos Pueblos ahead for good 67-64. Nayak knocked down two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
Dos Pueblos (3-3 overall) will open Channel League play on Tuesday, December 10 at Buena.