Sandra Day O’Connor's Eagles got by Cibola 56-33 Friday night in girls basketball.

 

Strong defensive play helped the Eagles get the win. The Eagles started off the first half playing full-court press defense and aggressive defense throughout the whole game. The strategy worked as the Eagles came up with 12 total steals in the game and multiple fast breaks leading to points off those steals.

 

Raiders head coach Anthony Gerg had made adjustments to break away from the press defense, but it was a challenging obstacle to face an overall aggressive defensive scheme.

 

“We knew they were going to press, we go over it in practice every day,” Gerg said. “That’s a heck of a team, give them credit. They brought a lot of intensity and aggressive defense toward us which caused us to turn the ball over and not shoot the ball well.”

 

At the end of the first quarter, the Eagles were up 17-11. Hard drives toward the basket seemed to be the strategy for the Eagles. coming away with a number of powerful drives toward the net for hard-earned layups.

 

Eagles head coach Danny Soliman could not stress enough to his players to play as a team and find each other.

 

“Our game plan was to be a little patient,” Soliman said. “We knew that they pressured the ball very well, so we tried to rip strong and get to the rim. The message for the girls is to believe in themselves, people count us out a lot and they have a chip on their shoulder. They want to get those wins and represent who they are and this team.”

 

Three pointers were extremely helpful in controlling the game. Eagles senior Jilly Licurgo was not shy at all when attempting threes. Licurgo drained three three-pointers to help her team rise above the Raiders. A crucial three came in the fourth quarter as Licurgo swished it with less than four minutes left in the game, putting the Eagles up 47-32.

 

Soliman had no problem with his senior forward taking those shots.

 

“If a player can play, I let them play,” Soliman said. “She’s our best three-point shooter, I told her if she’s open ‘let it go’.”

 

At one point in the fourth quarter, it had looked like the Raiders might have had a nice run coming together as they hit a three-pointer at the very start, making their deficit by just 10 points.

 

Unfortunately for the Raiders, they were unable to keep Eagles senior guard Grace Lyons away as she came up with a huge steal that turned into a fast break layup. That two-pointer was shorty followed by another layup by Lyons, making it 44-32.

 

“I really try to read the offense’s eyes, get in the passing lane and take that away so they can’t get that extra pass in,” Lyons said.

 

With the Eagles having only one regular season game left, the focus now is on finishing up strong and earning a first-round playoff bye.

 

“We’re still in a good spot for playoffs,” Lyons said. “We’re hoping to get in the top eight so that’s why this game and the one on Tuesday are so important.”