Lynbrook won a showdown of the SCVAL-De Anza's two previously unbeaten girls basketball teams, defeating visiting Gunn 45-28, Friday night.
Lynbrook (15-2, 5-0) took the lead from the start with junior Sarah Dyslin, winning the jump ball, resulting in a Paige Song field goal. Dyslin and Song led the Vikings in scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Vikings, who ended the first quarter with 28 points, continued to score on the struggling Titan defense while protecting their own hoop by only allowing six points in the half.
By forcing many turnovers, the Titans were able to kick-start their offense during the second half with senior Claire Klausner leading the team with 12 points. However, their second-half rally and heavy reliance on a single player were not enough to close the deficit incurred during the first half. With Lynbrook still making consistent baskets, they were simply unable to catch up.
With the electrifying season that the Vikings have had this year, coach Cynthia Ting believes that much of the team's success comes from the fun that the Lady Vikes are having on the court.
"I think [the success of our team] is because they play for each other and they communicate super well and have fun while they're playing basketball," Ting said. "Even though it doesn't seem like having fun is gonna carry a team very far, if they can have fun doing what they're doing that's (a plus)."
Furthermore, focus will be vital for Lynbrook, Ting said.
"We take it game by game depending on who we're playing," she said. "We just need to stay composed and patient and just go out there and work hard every single night. We know that all of these teams are really, really good, and if we let up for one second, then they're going to step up and get one [game] on us, which we have been pretty close on for a couple games, but we just need to make sure that we stay focused and keep working hard in practice.
The loss dropped Gunn to 10-4, 3-1.
As the Vikings continue their season away against Saratoga next Tuesday, the Titans will be playing at home against Wilcox.
