With 17 seconds left in the game, junior Jordana Dauber rises up for a layup and gets fouled by her opponent from Washington International School (WIS). Dauber then makes one of her two free throws, putting the Lions in the lead with a score of 46-45. This tie-breaking shot led to the Lions semi-final victory against WIS on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
The first quarter of the game started off slow with effective defense from both teams as not many fouls were called. WIS made the first layup of the game, but the Lions quickly stole the ball for a fast break layup. Senior and captain Tali Loeffler and junior Yarden Wilkenfeld each made multiple layups in the first quarter.
The first quarter ended with a low inside pass to Wilkenfeld by senior and captain Gila Safra and a shot in the paint. However, JDS had a difficult time making shots in the beginning of the game, which resulted in a low-scoring quarter that ended 13-12.
WIS’ defense and ball pressure amped up in the second quarter, and the Lions struggled to move the ball around. JDS had many unsuccessful cuts, but on the defensive side of the court their rebounding was successful.
According to Head Coach Becky Silberman, the team had trouble communicating and playing as a whole.
“I don’t think we played great team basketball,” Silberman said. “I think it was a lot of one on five, not really seeing the whole court, and I think a lot of people on the team tried to take on too much themselves.”
Because of WIS’s man-to-man defense, the Lions were not able to effectively run their plays or make shots, so the score was 27-22 with WIS in the lead at halftime.
After the break, the Lions’ energy was high, and they came onto the court with a new sense of aggression according to Silberman.
“I got really worked up in the first half,” Wilkenfeld said. “But over halftime, I had a reset, and I knew I needed to calm myself down to contribute to the team and to help us power forward through the second half.”
An inside pass to Loeffler and a layup in the paint by Dauber tied the score at 27 a few minutes into the third quarter. After multiple fast break layups by Wilkenfeld, the score was 31-30 in the Lions’ favor.
In addition to JDS’ offense during the second half of the game, their defense was also very effective. Senior Ella Longman intercepted a few passes from WIS and junior Caroline Saltz grabbed multiple defensive rebounds. Fast passes were made, and both teams racked up multiple fouls toward the end of the third quarter.
“When we boxed out, we did a good job and we got our rebounds, and I think we did a good job keeping our composure towards the end when [the score] got close,” Loeffler said.
The final quarter of the game started out with a tied score of 34-34, and was very foul-heavy. Salz grabbed a rebound and passed it to Loeffler who swished a three-pointer, bringing the score up to 40-36 in the Lions’ favor. The entire gym was tense, both the bench and the bleachers. With one minute left and a one-point difference, it was anyone’s game.
With two minutes remaining, Dauber made two free throws, putting the Lions up one, 44-43. Despite WIS’s attempts to close the lead, they fouled Safra in the last minute of the game, and after two free throws, the game concluded at 48-45.
This win advances the Lions to the PVAC championship where they will face off against the Berman Cougars on Thursday, Feb. 19 at the Melvin J Berman Hebrew Academy.
“During the championship we’ll really take these lessons that we learned,” Wilkenfeld said. “This was a hard fought win, and I think this momentum will really carry us towards the championship.”
