By Jay Leon Guerrero
The St. John’s Knights will be the top seed heading into the GBC Girls High School Basketball League playoffs after handing the Academy Cougars their first loss of the season.
The Knights led from start to finish and ended their regular season with a 52-41 victory over the Cougars on Academy’s home court Friday night. The playoffs start next Tuesday (Dec 10th), with the top eight teams battling for the championship. All games will tip-off at 6 pm.
The reigning girls basketball MVP (last season’s IIAAG league), Jia Peters, put up another MVP performance under the spotlight. Peters had 22 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and four steals to help the Knights improve to 10-1.
Peters, a junior, got support from freshman Zoe Whitehead, who scored the first six points of the contest. Whitehead finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks. St John’s forward Amara Del Carmen chipped in eight points and had seven rebounds.
“Zoe played good tonight, and she is a crucial member of our team,” said Del Carmen. Del Carmen said her addition is something the Knights did not have last year, and her front court defense will help the Knights advance deep into the playoffs.
The Cougars struggled with perimeter shooting, missing some open looks they normally make. The Knights controlled the boards and limited Academy’s second chance opportunities, which was a key factor to their victory. The Knights won the battle of the boards 45-25.
Maya Torre led the Cougars with 12 points. Maria Paulino had seven points and a game high five steals for the Cougars. The Cougars head into the playoffs as the second seed and will hold home court advantage in the opening rounds.
“Tonight’s victory was very important for us. It helps increase our shot to making it to the championship game,” said Peters. After dropping 40 points against the ND Royals earlier in the week, Friday night’s performance by Peters will have her as a leading contender for this season’s MVP.
“My dad (pauses and laughs), I mean our coach, Fred Peters, really helped to prepare us for tonight’s game.”
– St. John’s junior Jia Peters
The Knights’ only loss of the season was to the St. Paul Warriors (9-2), and a main issue in that game was turnovers. Friday night, the Knights did just enough against the Cougar back court pressure to secure the win.
“Today’s victory definitely helps our confidence, but we can’t get too cocky because we’re not done yet,” said Del Carmen. “Academy is always the game we look forward to. Keeping that lead for the entire game helped keep our energy up.”
The Knights will host the first round of the playoffs against the eighth seed Okkodo Bulldogs (4-7). The Cougars are the second seed with a 10-1 record and will host the seventh seed Sanchez Sharks (4-7).
The JFK Islanders finish third after defeating the St Paul Warriors 55-48 Friday night. The Islanders (9-2) will host the sixth seed Southern Dolphins (5-6), and the Warriors (9-2) will host the fifth seed Guam High Panthers (7-4).
Fasten your seat belts. The playoffs are coming. On behalf of basketball fans, thank you to GBC for organizing and bringing back the high school league featuring both public and private schools.
FRIDAY’S OTHER GAMES
JFK 55, St. Paul 48
Sanchez 50, Harvest 7
Okkodo 59, Tiyan 21
Southern 59, Notre Dame 41
Guam High 70, GW 18
FINAL STANDINGS
St. John’s 10-1
Academy 10-1
JFK 9-2
St. Paul 9-2
Guam High 7-4
Southern 5-6
Sanchez 4-7
Okkodo 4-7
Notre Dame 4-7
GW 2-9
Harvest 1-10
Tiyan 1-10
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