Varsity Girls Basketball faces Beachside

Lindsay Johnson | dec. 21 2023 | sports

On Nov. 27, 2023, Stanton College Preparatory School’s varsity girls basketball team traveled to face the Beachside High School Barracudas. They were losing early in the game, and in the end, Stanton lost 63-21.  

About two minutes into the game, the Barracudas made the first shot, scoring two points. Five points later, Stanton’s senior guard Gabrielle Fajardo made Stanton’s first point with a free throw. Stanton’s Blue Devils did not score any more points in the first quarter, going into the second with a score of 28-1. Fajardo scored eight points in the second quarter, but Beachside scored 14, bringing the halftime score to 42-9 in Beachside’s favor, frustrating Stanton’s team. 

In the second half, there was a visible shift in Stanton’s play. Sophomore Jaiden Perkins scored two points early in the second half, and Fajardo scored 10 points in the remainder of the game.

Despite the Blue Devils’ increase in baskets towards the end, Beachside finished the game with a 42-point lead. The Barracudas felt confident about their win and generally positively about the game. One of their players, sophomore guard Ariana Walker, expressed this feeling.  

“I feel it was a good game, everyone played great on both sides, and it was good competition,” said Walker. 

Stanton sophomore guard Eviem’ree Moore expressed how the team didn’t have the best mindset going into the game. 

“We did not play [Beachside] last year and I think this can humble us sometimes,” said Moore. “We kind of psyched ourselves out because everybody knew how good of a team they were going to be.” 

Stanton’s team was facing a few challenges, not only playing a skilled opponent, but also adjusting to a new coach, Jacquelynn Leak.  

“We are transitioning from one coach to another, this is my second game coaching in the head coach capacity,” said Coach Leak. “[We are] just trying to adjust to the difference in how each coach coaches.” 

Fajardo described how, despite difficulties, the team managed to continue to play hard through the game. 

“I [think] throughout the game we did a lot better [compared to the beginning],” said Fajardo. “Overall, I feel that we pushed through and finished as well as we could.”  

In the end, the Blue Devils lost to the Barracudas, but the team plans to practice more to win through the rest of the season. The following week, Stanton’s varsity girls played three games, against Wolfson, Englewood, and Mandarin respectively.