Thursday, Dec. 11, the Bulldogs faced off against the Oxnard Hornets in a league basketball game, hoping to secure a win after losing to Ventura the prior Tuesday. Despite the team’s best efforts, Buena wasn’t able to take the lead, and fell to Oxnard 58-28.
Going into the game, they knew the matchup would be tough based on previous scores, but they tried not to let it shake their confidence.
“We went into this game with the mindset that we were going to play hard and not give up,” junior captain and number 32 Presley Bosch said.
The Bulldogs took to the court during warm up to take shots, pass around, and focus to play their best despite having a limited number of subs.
At the sound of the tipoff, Oxnard snatched the ball and threw in their first few baskets. However, the Bulldogs were not discouraged, and they continued to go at the Hornets, allowing Bosch to draw a foul and put a point on the board.
Later, senior and number 35 Brynleigh Elliott and Bosch connected and managed to link up for a lay up under the net. Sophomore and number one Aralynn Hess also pulled through with a three pointer, and sophomore and number 34 Jaida Thomas converted another foul into Bulldog points.
Nevertheless, during the second quarter, the Hornets had unmatchable chemistry that was hard to beat, with quick passes, hand-offs and shots to run the score up 11-30. Head Coach Trevor Payan called a timeout in hopes to reset the energy and take the game back, and Thomas responded, adding two points to the board.
Despite the discouraging score that glared on the scoreboard, the cheerleaders came out bright and cheery for halftime, putting on a show in efforts to uplift both the team and crowd spirit. After they finished their cheer successfully, it was evident that the crowd perked up a bit more, and the game went on.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Bosch took a hard foul at the start of third and went out for injury, hindering the team’s morale. Oxnard took advantage of the Bulldogs fumbles and began to make countless steals, widening the score gap. Notwithstanding all events, the Bulldogs never quit. After getting knocked to the floor, Hess came up with two steals and a layup. Similarly, in the fourth quarter Buena earned four fouls, with Thomas and Hess adding points.
Even after the game, the Bulldogs kept their heads held high, reassuring each other that regardless of the outcome they still improved as a team.
“Our girls didn’t give up. They played with a lot of heart and together as a team, something that we haven’t done in a long time,” Payan said.
