SAN MATEO, CA - Friday night’s game between Aragon and Mills proved to be a gritty battle on the boards all night long, but it was ultimately the visiting team’s more balanced performance that edged the Lady Dons 47-41. Six of Mills’s eight active players scored, headlined by forward Aubrie Businger’s 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting.
Following a tightly contested third quarter, the Lady Vikings (7-6, 2-0 PAL-South) were able to take a two-point lead heading into the final quarter until a fadeaway baseline jumper from Aragon forward Briana Reynolds knotted the score at 33 apiece. Still, it was aggressive rebounding and tireless hustling, particularly by Mills forward Julia Gibbs, that kept the Lady Vikings in the game, keeping the score tied at 40 with just two minutes remaining.
Businger’s two successes at the charity stripe in front of a relentless, screaming home crowd then put the visiting team up by two just seconds later.
With only 1:20 left in the game, the Mills backcourt was able to force a turnover around center court, igniting a fast break opportunity on the other end and earning two attempts at the line to silence the home crowd with their eventual six-point win.
“Aragon’s tenacity on defense really kept it such a tight game. They shot the ball really well tonight.” said Mills head coach Dave Matsu. “Just their overall athleticism really hurt us tonight. That’s a really good team we just beat, so I’m happy we got a win. I think what helped us was that our veterans made free throws and a couple of nice steals. They didn’t panic in crunch time."
Meanwhile, Aragon’s (5-7, 1-1 PAL-South) scoring output rested heavily on Reynolds’s game-high 20 points, 14 of which came in the first half.
“They close out really hard, which made my drive-ins easier," Reynolds said. "And once they realized that I could drive, I had a wide-open 3-pointer which really got me going. But they’re a good defensive team.
Aside from the Lady Dons’ leading scorer, the team struggled to find the basketball all night long, going 6 of 30 from the field.
Frequent fouls charged against the Lady Vikings placed the home team in the double bonus with 5:47 remaining in the second quarter and allowed the players to take advantage of their opportunities from the line. Reynolds also took 10 of her game-high 16 rebounds in the first half, seven of which were on the offensive glass, to keep her team within 25-22 leading to the break.
Still, Aragon was unable to contain Mill’s slashers, Kaela Stonebarger and Zelie Zshornack, who were able to exploit their opponents’ slow rotations within the 1-3-1 system en route to their eight and 10 points respectively and their team’s eventual win.
