On Dec. 16, 2024, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls basketball team faced St. Bonaventure High School (Bonnie) in a challenging match on Bonnie’s home court. Despite a spirited effort, the Dragons fell to Bonnie with a final score of 47-76.
The Dragons started strong, winning the tipoff and putting the first points on the board with a mid-range jumper from Rihanna Samples ‘25. However, Bonnie quickly responded, tying the score at 2-2 before sinking a three-pointer and a layup to take a 2-7 lead. Bella Baum ‘26 brought the Dragons closer with a layup, making it 4-7. Bonnie then drew a foul to extend their lead to 4-9. Baum struck again with another layup, followed by a mid-range shot from Kiara Zavala ‘26 to narrow the gap to 8-9.
Bonnie regained their momentum with a jumper, but Emerie Heglund ‘28 kept the Dragons in the game with a jumper to bring the score to 10-11. Bonnie responded with two quick three-pointers, ending the first quarter with a lead of 10-19.
In the second quarter, Bonnie pressed their lead with a layup and a three-pointer to extend their lead to 12-23. The Dragons struggled to counter Bonnie’s aggressive play, as they drained another three to extend the lead to 12-26. Baum attempted to build a response with a layup to bring the score to 14-26, but Bonnie put up another three-pointer, crushing the Dragon’s momentum. Baum put up a layup and Jocelyn Morales ‘28 added a jumper, bringing the Dragons to 18-31, but Bonnie closed the half with the commanding lead of 23-35.
Baum spoke on her individual and team performance, “I think I played alright … I was more aware on the court … as a whole, we need to work on our communication and clean up messy passes.”
The third quarter saw Bonnie widen their lead with a three-pointer to start the half. Samples responded with a layup, followed by Zavala with a layup and one play, closing the gap slightly to 28-38. However, Bonnie answered back with a series of scoring plays to build their lead to 28-46. Despite a timeout and regrouping, the Dragons struggled to find their rhythm. Vivian Ryan ‘25 drained a three-pointer to bring the score to 31-47, but Bonnie continued to dominate, ending the quarter at 31-50.
In the final quarter, the Dragons continued to fight, with Morales sinking a mid-range shot and Baum drawing a foul. Zavala made a layup, and Sophia Vega ‘26 cpatured a free throw to bring the score to 40-63. Heglund also put up multiple points in the last couple of minutes. But for every shot the Dragons made, Bonnie seemed to make more, and despite their efforts, Bonnie maintained control, ending the game with a decisive 47-76 victory.
Zavala reflected on the team’s performance, stating, “As a team, we could have done better … I think we need to work on finishing around the rim and finding our open players.”
The Dragons will compete next on Dec. 18, 2024, against Santa Paula High School (Santa Paula), where they hope to bounce back and showcase their strength.
