The Issaquah Eagles JV girls basketball team won 42-33 over the Woodinville Falcons in an epic show of defensive prowess. The game was neck and neck the entire time, with neither team establishing a lead greater than 10 points over the other, but it was the Eagle’s last quarter aggressiveness that ultimately proved too much for the Falcons.

Both teams went out onto the court with an ecstatic energy, each one ready to fight for the win. The game started with the Falcons getting on the board first, but their early domination did not last long as the Eagles quickly rallied to tie up the game within two minutes. The game was a show of defence on both sides as by the end of the first quarter the score was only 12-10, with Issaquah on top with a couple of last minute three-point shots by freshmen Courtney Smith and Ava Wilkison.

In the second half, the game began to heat up as players from each team began to crank up their effort to 110 percent as the Issaquah Eagles tried to pull ahead from their 25-20 lead. The Falcons open up the half with near immediate back-to-back 3-point shots, tying up with the Eagles halfway through the third quarter. After coming to a tie at 27-27, both teams fight hard, but neither of them are able to maintain a lead until the tail end of the fourth quarter when the Eagles’ teamwork and aggressiveness overpowers the Falcons’ defense. The game soon ends in favor of the Eagles 42 to 33.

After the game, Issaquah’s assistant coach, Jackie Bykonen, said their game plan heading into the game was to “win every loose ball, rebounding, and then being patient in looking for good shots because Woodinville is very fast. They score a lot of points in transition.” The plan worked out perfectly for the Eagles which led them to a victory. One of the stars of the game, Junior Paka Ferrer, said postgame, “Right at the beginning we were off a little bit on rebounds, but we picked it up the rest of the game and honestly this was probably our best game ever, so that’s how we want to play games throughout the whole season.” Sophomore Paris Wallace added to this victory by saying, “We worked really well as a team. We had really good ball movement and runs up and down the court. We played really well defensive wise against Woodinville.” These girls deserved their hard fought victory as they hustled every second of the game and they are very happy with how the team played against Woodinville’s quick offense. Certainly a well fought and well deserved win for the JV girls basketball team.