Monday evening, the Poly girls’ basketball team defended their home court by taking the lead early and never relinquishing it, in a drama-free Moore League affair that more or less sews up the league title for the Jackrabbits (who are 9-0); the Rams have essentially clinched second, at 7-2.
In the first half, Millikan turned the ball over early and often, as they had eleven turnovers in the first sixteen minutes of the game. Poly took their first big lead about halfway through the first quarter—it was 6-5 Millikan, until Poly went on a 13-0 run, and would close the quarter 14-2, giving themselves an eleven point advantage, thanks mostly to the excellent play of their bigs, as Monique Oliver, Thaddesia Southall, and Ta’Nitra Byrd all played well, utilizing Poly’s significant height advantage. That advantage also manifested itself in Poly’s 11 blocks, as Millikan struggled to get the ball through the Jackrabbit canopy down low.
Poly expanded their lead to nineteen at halftime, and went on to win by a score of 61-45. Millikan struggled to execute consistently on offense, but Ashley Mitchell performed well, with 18 points—the Rams rebounded better than in the two teams’ first meeting, due in large part to Candice Menifee, who, while not the tallest player, seems to have greatly improved her footwork and positioning skills this season. She finished with 8 points and 10 rebounds.
For Poly, Monique Oliver made the biggest impact, with 16 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks; Ashley Wilson had twelve.
“Yeah, we’re happy with the win,” said Poly coach Carl Buggs after the game, “But we still have some work to do. We turned the ball over way too much in the second half—a lot of them were unforced, too, which we’ve got to correct.”
The most impressive thing about an overall dominant performance from Poly was the quality of their opponent—it was the kind of performance that Millikan has been doling out to everyone that’s not Poly this season. The Rams are 20-3, with two losses to Poly and one more to Cajon, way back on December 19th. Poly’s last loss was on December 19th as well, and this was their twelfth consecutive win—there are three games remaining for the ‘Rabbits to get ready for another playoff run, and their attempt at a state-record fourth consecutive California championship.