- El Capitan defeated Atwater in the first of two CCC matchups.
- El Capitan now holds a one game advantage over Atwater for first place.
- Both teams will play again on February 5th at Atwater.
On January 20th, the El Capitan Gauchos strengthened their hold on the CCC with an intense rivalry win over the Atwater Falcons, improving to 3-0 in league play, and remaining a perfect 4-0 at home. Coming into the game, Atwater sat at 11-8 and 2-0 in league play. With both teams winning their first two games of league play, this game carried a bit more pressure for both teams.
The first quarter opened with both teams trading possessions and playing smothering defense. El Capitan gained a small lead, but in the closing seconds of the quarter, Atwater’s Natalia Melgoza scored for the Falcons to give Atwater a slight boost in momentum. Within the first few minutes of the second quarter, the score stood at 12-11 with El Capitan clinging to a slim lead.
Atwater was able to tie the game at the free throw line, but soon after that, the Gauchos’ offense began to settle in. After retaking the lead, the Gauchos were able to quickly add to it with four straight free throws and a layup from Olivia Schneider. All of a sudden, with two minutes left before halftime, the lead grew to 23-13. The Falcons, however, were able to manage four quick points in the paint, in back-to-back possessions, to cut into the deficit. By halftime the score was 25-19.
El Capitan came out of halftime with even more energy, scoring within the first 20 seconds of the third quarter to take control. The Gauchos Avnoor Bains tossed in another layup to increase the lead. Although Atwater found points to stay within reach, the Gauchos full court pressure defense allowed them to maintain their lead even as Atwater fought hard to keep up.
El Capitan opened the fourth quarter by extending their eight point lead with an early bucket. The Falcons tried to piece together a rally, but by the middle of the fourth quarter, the pressuring defense of El Capitan began to wear on the offense of Atwater. In the closing minutes, the Gauchos put together back to back scoring shots to pull further away and secure a 56-42 victory.
After the game, Coach Adam Her reflected on the significance of the win, giving credit to his players for the work they put in and the way they handled a rivalry game. “They know that games like this aren’t easy. They are earned,” he explained. “The score always starts at 0. You have to play every game the same way until 32 minutes [are] finished.”
Next up for both teams, the rivalries continue as the Gauchos travel to Golden Valley to face the Cougars. While the Atwater Falcons travel down Sante Fe Drive to take on the Merced Bears.
