Lady Rams Beat Titans and Advance Into Playoffs

Highland women’s basketball came out with a great victory after an intense, back and forth battle against Olympus High today. The Rams stayed neck and neck with the Titans until the final buzzer, coming out with a 57-52 victory.

The Lady Rams scored right out of the gate and began their intense battle. Lea Havili took a free throw in the last two seconds of the first quarter, leaving them with a 15-10 lead at the buzzer.

The two teams went back and forth all throughout the second and third quarters. Both teams had a handful of free throws, and played strong defense against each other. After being down 5 points the Rams came back and held possession, finishing out the third quarter 38-35.

Highland stayed ahead the majority of the final quarter until the titans kicked it into gear and challenged them even harder, taking a 52-47 lead with only three minutes left.

The Rams called a time-out, and this was when they really brought out the intensity they were looking for.

“We really picked it up at the end of the game,” Junior Alex Debow said. “We played strong defense that allowed us to steal the ball and score those last few points.”

The Lady Rams held the Titans at a final 52 points, not letting them score again.

In an extremely nerve-racking final minute, holding the game at 54-52, Highland lost the ball with only 33 seconds left. They fouled Olympus, giving them two free throws—a chance for Olympus to tie up the game. However they missed both throws and their opportunity even the score.

With 20 seconds left, Havili made both her free-throws, putting the rams up 56-52. Their defense was tough and impeccable, not letting Olympus get a shot as those final seconds ticked down.

Nani Tonga snatched the ball and was fouled in the final three seconds. She scored her free-throw and made the lady rams finish with a 57-52 victory.

The Highland Lady Rams will advance into the playoffs and play Alta at SLCC on Wednesday at 4:10pm.

“Alta is a good team,” Debow said. “We will definitely need to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are, but no matter what just expect your Lady Rams to go out there and play our game to win.”