Following a dominant victory over La Reina High School on Thursday, Jan. 18, Foothill Tech’s girls’ basketball team kept on rolling as they took on the Santa Paula Cardinals at home on Tuesday, Jan. 23. With a balanced team scoring effort, the Dragons mowed down the Cardinals in a 59-28 victory.

Abby Sourwine ‘19 won the tip for Foothill and teammate Abby Bova ‘19 nailed a jumper from the wing to start off the night. Sourwine scored twice following that and Maddie Ozbourn ‘19 finished off a fastbreak to cap off a quick 8-2 start for Foothill.

Abby Bova then hit a three-pointer, which was countered by a three pointer from Santa Paula. After Sourwine hit Emiline Bova ‘19 for a three, and Ozbourn scored again, the Dragons held a 16-5 lead. After a basket from Cydnie Gutierrez ‘19 and another from Emiline Bova, Foothill ended the first quarter on top 20-7. Emiline Bova thought that the Dragons “moved the ball really well” but that they “could have protected the ball better because of their high volume of turnovers.

Annika Kinnaman ‘19 started the second quarter with a free throw, which Santa Paula followed with a couple layups. Ozbourn and Sourwine both had jumpers, as well as a jumper from Alex Avila ‘18. Foothill went up 27-14 at halftime.

Assistant coach Paul Tafoya felt that the team did a good job of playing strong in both halves and was “very pleased” with their defense.

Abby Bova knocked down a jumper, followed with a nice shot by Ozbourn to start the second half. Ozbourn continued her scoring output with another jump shot from the corner and a fastbreak layup to help the Dragons grab a 35-18 lead. Santa Paula steadily scored every few possessions but couldn’t keep up with Foothill’s fast-paced offense.

Emiline Bova scored on the fastbreak to continue the scoring for the Dragons. She finished with 11 points, four assists and four blocks. Ozbourn scored twice more and the Dragons were up 47-20 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was pretty even, as Santa Paula nearly matched Foothill’s 11 points with eight of their own. Izzy Gallegos ‘19 scored twice and Avila hit two jumpers as well, as the Dragons went on to win 59-28. Avila finished with six points, Abby Bova had nine points and six rebounds and Sourwine recorded eight points and four assists.

Tafoya was happy with the way that Ozbourn scored, as she led the team with 16 points. He also felt that Abby Bova and Gutierrez led the team “where they need[ed] to go.”

Gutierrez thought that the team did a good job of getting open shots and “playing as a team on offense.” The girls will take on Santa Clara on Thursday, Jan. 25 on the road to extend the winning streak to four games.