The GDS women’s varsity basketball team defeated DC International School (DCI) during the triannual Sports Saturday on Jan. 27. The Hoppers survived a late surge by DCI to win 49–33.
The game changed GDS’ record to 9-3 overall, and 5-1 in Independent School League (ISL) games. The team is hoping to build off of last season and this year win the ISL championship.
To start the game, freshman Nevaeh Roberson won the tip off and senior Madi Moore scored on a foul shot. GDS continued to lead from there and ended the first quarter leading 20–8.
The second quarter started with a play from sophomore Cai Roberson to Nevaeh Roberson, her sister, who then passed to junior Kesi McDuffie, who shot and scored three points. On the next play, Nevaeh Roberson fought for a rebound from a free throw and then passed to Moore, who made a three.
Going into the game, Nevaeh Roberson said she had a specific goal to “gain more rebounds,” which in turn helped her assist more shots and score herself. In one impressive play in the second quarter, she passed the ball behind her back to freshman Amira Comissiong, who scored a layup. The Hoppers took a 34–11 lead into halftime.
Returning from halftime, Moore quickly scored a two-pointer by outrunning DCI and getting a lay-up at the basket. A couple minutes later, Comissiong nearly made a three-pointer that only barely missed the hoop, but Cai Roberson caught the rebound and scored a lay-up. Near the end of the quarter, Moore made an important play on defense, intercepting a DCI pass and heading toward the hoop. She was fouled on the shot and scored a point on a free throw. The hoppers led 45–14 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was intense as DCI fought hard and nearly caught up to GDS. The Dragons began the quarter by scoring 15 straight points before freshman Maddy Allen broke the streak by scoring two points for her team. With only a minute and thirty seconds left in the game, McDuffie injured her head and was subbed out for the remainder of the game. GDS held on and won the game 49–33.
The GDS women’s varsity basketball team had a successful game, according to Nevaeh Roberson. “My mindset was to go out there, play my best, just have fun, and I think the team did that as well,” she said.
GDS “started out super strong, which [they’ve] kind of struggled with in the past” and finished on top, according to junior Evelyn Chen. Chen and Allen agreed that there was room for improvement in their rebounding and execution of plays, but they were proud of how the team played.
The Hoppers’ next game is against Holton-Arms on Monday, Jan. 29. They will look for an important and challenging win in an in-conference game.