KUA Nearly Upsets Class B Govs
The Lady Wildcats travelled to Class B powerhouse Governor's Academy today and nearly came away with an upset. KUA led from the 15 minute mark all the way until just 36 seconds left in the first half. Three turnovers in a row gave the ball back to Govs and they capitalized on the Wildcats' mistakes giving themselves a 35-34 lead going into the locker room at the break.
Fiekah Fataar took the ball strong to the hoop in the opening minute of the second stanza to put KUA back on top, 36-35. It was a back and forth battle until the 5:00 mark and that is when Govs started to slowly pull away. Kimball Union went ice cold from the floor converting just 6 of 22 layup attempts while Governor's spread the floor and found good looks at the hoop. KUA found themselves down by 10, 58-48, with 2:46 left on the clock, but they would not go down with out a fight. Gabby Diaz hit a 3 and Fataar sank two free throws to cut the deficit to 5. Diaz sank two more freebies and suddenly it was a 3 point ball game with less than a minute to play. KUA was forced to foul and Govs converted both foul shots, but Fataar drove the lane again to bring the score to 60-57. A steal was made by KUA on the next possession and Diaz hit a floater in the lane to make it a 1 point nailbiter, 60-59 with 17 ticks left. Again, forced to foul on the next two possessions, KUA put Govs on the line and they hit 3 of 4 to clinch the victory.
Autumn Kariuki finished with 10 points, 4 assists and 8 rebounds. Bianca Brenz played a solid game on both ends of the floor netting 8 points, dishing 2 assists, pulling in 6 defensive rebounds, drawing an offensive charge and nabbing 2 steals. Emily Kelly played stellar defense while chipping in with 6 points. Gabby Diaz led in scoring with 23 points, including 5 three-pointers. Diaz also dished out 4 assists, had 3 rebounds and 3 steals on the afternoon.
KUA has earned the #2 seed in the upcoming New England Prep School Basketball Tournament. The Lady Wildcats, winners of 4 NEPSAC titles and runners-up in 3 others since 1999, will welcome 7th seeded Beaver Country Day School (Brookline, MA) to Alumni Gymnasium on Wednesday, March 2nd. Tip-off is at 4:30p.m.
