(GIRLS) Argyle Pipers Defeat Holy Cross Crusaders in After-School Matchup
Argyle Pipers v Holy Cross Crusaders (girls)
December 10, Round 2
Written by Rahim Pendleton
An early Friday afternoon matchup on the consolation side of the draw pitted the host Argyle Pipers against Surrey’s Holy Cross Crusaders. A raucous after-school crowd in the Pipers brand new gym saw the home team come out in an aggressive 2-3 zone that created some early turnovers and long rebounds to spark a run capped with an easy layup and slick pass from Camryn Pedley that pushed the Pipers lead to 12-5 out of the gate. The Crusaders were led by pesky underclassmen Maryan Chaudhry and Alynah Solano, who despite being only in grade 9 and 10 respectively, seemed to be the catalysts in keeping Holy Cross in the game. Their tenacity didn’t go without reward as a long three from Solano closed the Q with the Crusaders down 14-8.
A frenzied start to the 2nd quarter began much the same as the first with Pedley and fellow forward Braeli Adrian traded assists and layups to begin a mini 7-0 run for the Pipers punctuated by a pull-up 3 from guard Lindsey Hills. The Crusaders won’t go away easily, as another grade 9, Isla Kelly, seemed intent on putting her stamp on the game for Holy Cross as she knocked down a big time 3 and got a subsequent block, steal and assist to close the Pipers early lead back down to 4. Some aggressive back and forth play saw the Crusaders Siena Legazpi take a hard spill in the closing minutes, knocking the wind out of her, but this seemed to spark her team as hard defense and a timely 3 from Tiana Ursua sees the Pipers lead back down to 1 to end the half – Argyle 22 – HC -21.
Halftime fact: The Crusaders played with only 7 players in the lineup today despite having 15 players on the roster – the injury bug can surely be blamed but hopefully a new year can bring new luck to this squad.
A slow start to the 2nd half by both teams had them trading early layups, the Piper duo of Pedley and Adrian continued to showcase their chemistry as a couple of nifty passes and elbow jump shots saw the Pipers extend their lead out to 7 before the Crusaders Isla Kelly stopped the run with a huge block and layup on the other end to force a timeout from the Argyle coach Anthony Beyrouti. Beyrouti’s timeout pays immediate dividends as the Pipers forced a couple of quick turnovers but missed layups and free throws only resulted in one score and the Pipers close the 3rd Q up 37-30.
The story of the 2nd half for the Pipers was the play of Pedley and Adrian, the Piper forwards were determined to get the W this afternoon and some redemption after yesterday’s blowout loss at the hands of the Walnut Grove Gators. With the Piper’s lead now at 9, Kiera Legazpis 3 and subsequent steal, led to a layup for the Crusaders to cut the lead down to 4 with 3 minutes left. Feeling the pressure, the Holy Cross coaches elected to take a timeout with the ball under their own basket to slow the game down. The Pipers took advantage with some full court pressure and an ensuing turnover and foul created 2 easy layups for the Pipers and put the game out of reach for the hard battling Crusaders.
Argyle 51 HC 40