Saturday afternoon was gloomy with rain on the horizon, and one of Northridge Academy or Sherman Oaks CES (SOCES) was going to walk out of their contest matching the weather, with the other in full control of the Valley League. Both teams have had a strong start to the season, with the Pumas coming in at 11-3 overall and 4-0 in league and the Knights entered 11-2 overall, with an identical 4-0 Valley League mark. In this, their first meeting of the season, the Pumas jumped out to a first-quarter lead behind a full-court press and good ball movement. They held on for a 50-39 victory that was a sign of resilience.

It seemed like Northridge Academy blitzed SOCES with their press defense out the outset of the game. The Knights were scrambling to get the ball upcourt, and when they did get into their frontcourt, they struggled to convert. Delilah Hernandez led the Pumas in the quarter with 7 points, going five for six from the free throw line. Near the end of the opening quarter, Hernandez jumped into the passing lane for a steal and turned that into a fast break layup where she was fouled. That was the energy that led Northridge Academy all afternoon. The Pumas held a 14-5 lead going into the second quarter.

The Knights were not about to concede the game after 8 minutes of play. They regrouped in the huddle between quarters and came out with an aggressive half-court press and trapping defense. Neriah Adjei came alive for SOCES, scoring six of their ten points in the quarter while also coming away with three steals. Adjei and Bhavya Wijesundara scored quickly after the quarter started to set the tone for the next 8 minutes of play. The Knights defense held the Pumas to six points and found themselves within two possessions heading into halftime with the score 20-15.

“To me, basketball is a game of runs,” Pumas coach Pedro Almaguer said when asked about how his team responded to the adjustments made by the Knights after the first quarter. “Every team is going to make adjustments. They’re going to have their run, but my girls know as long as they don’t take the lead on us (and the game is) back and forth, I’m okay with that.”

Sherman Oaks came out of the halftime break intent on trying to dig into the deficit and take a lead. A driving layup from Sultana Ahmadazi followed by a three-point play from Adjei cut the Pumas lead to  20-18. Adjei made a real nice move for a layup while being fouled and then she completed her three-point play by sinking the ensuing free throw. Northridge Academy was able to respond and matched SOCES energy as they pushed their lead back up to 10 points before the end of the quarter. Janelle Estrella hit a three as five different players contributed to the scoring for the Pumas during this run.

“She’s our leader,” said Almaguer of Estrella, one of two captains. “She plays both ways. If she’s not scoring, she’s picking the defense up. She wants to guard the best player on the other team. Can’t say enough about Janelle.”

The fourth quarter saw both teams enjoy scoring runs, though the Knights were unable to stretch one run late in the game and Northridge Academy took the 11-point win. Wijesundara hit a big three pointer for the Knights to cut the deficit to five points at 44-39 with 2:30 left in the game. Unfortunately for SOCES, that was their last basket of the game and the Pumas added a couple of difficult shots to seal the victory, 50-39.

Northridge Academy was led by their two captains, Hernandez and Estrella who finished with 18 and 13 points respectively while freshman Jacquelline Nettles, who never played basketball before this season, controlled the boards with 15 rebounds in addition to her six points. Adjei not only led SOCES in scoring, she the was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points

Following Saturday’s win, Northridge Academy dismantled Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences (VAAS) on Monday to improve their record to 13-3 and 6-0 in the Valley League. SOCES rebounded with a win against East Valley and now have a 12-3 overall record to go along with their 4-1 mark in league. Northridge Academy will host the return match against SOCES on Thursday, January 30 at 4:00 p.m.