Lindsey Nishimoto's lay-ups and Alison Takahashi's accurate free throw shooting lifted the Homestead girls to a 58-47 victory Friday night against Monta Vista in a SCVAL-El Camino League game.
Top scorer Nishimoto, a freshman point guard, made 4-of-10 field goal attempts for 14 points. Junior guard Takahashi followed with 13 points, making 2-of-3 from three-point range and scoring seven points from the free throw line.
“Everyone on the team just really went for it tonight,” senior guard Becky Chiu said. “We kept up our intensity and it only got better as the game went on.”
Homestead (6-9, 3-0 SCVAL-EC) started the game off with a putback for two points at the 6:47 mark, but the Mustangs lost a prime player only minutes later when starter Takashi sustained a blow to her right temple and had to be replaced by freshman guard Nicolette Conkin.
Conkin filled in well, immediately making a lay-in as Homestead stretched its lead to 4-0 and the Mustang cause was further strengthened with a quick return by Takashi.
The otherwise slow first quarter ended with a bang as Monta Vista (5-9, 0-4) and Homestead sank consecutive three-pointers within the span of seconds -- Monte Vista's coming from Kameko Oshiro and Homestead's from freshman guard Kimmie Wong, making it 8-4 Homestead.
Matador point guard Ashley Hu retaliated seconds later with a three-pointer at the 2:06 mark, which was countered by a three-pointer from Homestead's Nishimoto.
Homestead began to pull away in the second quarter, taking a 30-19 lead by halftime. Homestead prospered with three-pointers by Chiu and Megan Morita. Monta Vista used a balanced attack to manage 11 points in the quarter.
Chiu dominated at the start of the second half, setting the stage for more Mustang domination as she sank four free throws in the first two minutes of the third. She ended the game with 10 points, four rebounds, and a steal.
The Matadors rallied in the fourth quarter, but the 15-point deficit proved too great to overcome.
“We could have improved on our defense in that last quarter so we wouldn’t have to worry near the end at all,” Chiu said. “It’s always possible that the other team catches up in the final minutes, so it’s important that we don’t let up even when we are ahead.”
Two free throws from Stephanie Jenkins (nine points), a three-pointer from Megan Tsao from the left side and Hu's lay-in moved Monta Vista to within 48-40 with 6:08 left.
But Monta Vista's foul problems caught up with them as Homestead went a neat 20-of-27 from the line to prevail.
“The truth is that defense wins games, and it was our amazing defense that won tonight’s match,” Chiu said. “What really matters is that your team is able to keep their opponent from reaching the (basket) to score, and that’s what we did this time around.”
The Mustangs will meet the Los Altos Eagles (10-5, 3-0 El Camino) in an away game on January 16th at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Monta Vista will face the Cupertino Pioneers (2-13, 0-3) at home.
