On Dec. 12, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls’ basketball team hosted Cabrillo High School (Cabrillo) at Ventura College for their first home game of the 2023-24 winter season. The game ended up being a close competition between the two teams, but ended with Cabrillo squeezing out a win, 46-33.
Following the tipoff won by Petra Falcocchia ‘24, Foothill Tech began the game with multiple good looks from the field. However, Cabrillo struck first with a layup, which started off the game 2-0.
Continuing their offensive efforts, Lauren Kaller ‘25 got things going for the Dragons with a quick 3-pointer as a result of outstanding ball movement. Foothill Tech stayed consistent with their offensive efforts, widening their lead 9-2, coming from back to back layups from Olivia Mowad ‘24.
As the quarter progressed, Foothill Tech traded baskets with Cabrillo. The Dragons capped off an action-packed first quarter with a layup by Nisha Reddy ‘24, and a pull-up jump shot by Kaller. The Dragons ended the quarter with a 15-8 lead, an action packed beginning to an evenly matched game.
Despite their dominant first quarter, Foothill Tech struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the second quarter. Following back-and-forth defensive play and a free throw from Falcocchia, Cabrillo was able to find the net and overtake the Dragons. Their efforts shrunk Foothill Tech’s lead to a mere two points, 16-14.
Late into the second, the Dragons were able to secure various free throws from Falcocchia and Kiara Zavala ‘26, finishing the half with a 19-14 lead.
Re-energized and ready to go, both teams started out the third quarter strong, determined to win the game. Cabrillo struck first in the second half, starting out with a quick three pointer, and a pair of free throws to tie the game 19 apiece.
Foothill Tech and Cabrillo began to trade leads with multiple threes from Reddy and Mowad quickly being answered back by Cabrillo on the other end.
After an intense stretch of play, both teams started to pick it up on the defensive end. The scoring halted as Cabrillo had a one-point lead over Foothill going into the final quarter, 28-29.
Subsequent to Foothill Tech’s hard-fought third quarter, their efforts seemed to have been overpowered by a barrage of scoring by Cabrillo. In the final minutes of the game Cabrillo scored 12 consecutive points to secure their lead over the Dragons, 46-33.
Coach Chuck Ferris reflected on areas the Dragons could improve on, going forward into the season. “We want to continually improve on our defensive tactics on the floor,” said Ferris. “As far as offense, we just need to be more lively and with each other.”
Despite needing areas of improvement on, “passing … getting back on defense … and helping each other out” as stated by Falcocchia, Foothill Tech displayed a dynamic and intense performance on both ends of the floor, not backing down until the final moments of the game.
Looking to tally another win to their record, the Dragons look to prevail against Santa Barbara High School on Dec. 14 at Ventura High School’s Tuttle Gym.
