Highland’s Lady Rams faced off against their rival East on Friday night. Although they played hard and kept up the pace, the Leopards won 48-41. It was a tough night, with the men’s team losing to East as well.

The game started off with no points on either team for the first couple of minutes. The score was 0-0 until East finally found the basket in the third minute.  

The first quarter went by without too much excitement. Both teams not getting the points that they were looking for to start off the game. It ended with the Rams trailing 3-7.

The second quarter brought some more energy to the game. The Rams and the Leopards scored more than triple the points of the first quarter and fought hard throughout. They ended the first half with East ahead 24-11.

Halftime came and went, and the third quarter began.

During the third, Highland put up 9 points, but could not beat the 16 points by East. Highland hustled through the quarter, yet they couldn’t seem to find a breakthrough. The fourth quarter started with East still in the lead 40-20.

The end of the game brought the most points for Highland during the whole game. They scored 21 points, with the whole team playing the best that they had. The Leopards put in fewer baskets this quarter, with only 8 gained throughout. But it wasn’t enough for the Rams to snatch the win. East held onto their lead through the entire game and won 48-41.

East played a good ball game, not letting Highland get ahead ever. Lealani Falatea scored 17 points for East, and also had 4 shots from downtown to secure the win over Highland.

Highland’s own Kaija Glasker scored 10 points for her team, but it wasn’t enough to bring them back.

“Starting off the game we were scared, and it showed with some of the actions took place. I think if we had come off having no fear and gone out there giving it our all, we could have come out with a win” Glasker said.

Glasker thought that her team played well, but they needed to have come out stronger. Highland did have a slow start, with only 3 points in the first quarter. Towards the end though, the Rams picked up the pace to make it a close game.

Glasker stated, “I think towards the end we started to play and actually have fun.”

East is a good team, as shown with their championship last year. They proved to be a tough match and a learning experience for the Lady Rams.

The Rams next game is at home against the Olympus Titans.