Rosary’s Varsity Basketball team played their last league game against Mater Dei on Monday, Jan. 31.

The beginning of the game did not start off well. Mater Dei scored the first nine points. Then senior Kaylee Byon scored Rosary’s first points. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 11-8 Mater Dei.

During the second quarter, it was important to be able to hold Mater Dei to as few points as possible. Throughout this second quarter, Rosary was able to keep their fouls to a minimum. Kaylee Byon was making really good shots and was able to tie up the game as the quarter ran out.

At half, senior Kaylani Barker shared: “After half, I was really confident that we were going to win and we had control of this game. The team was composed and we were ready to finish the game.”

In the third quarter, the Royals came out strong and ready to win. Mater Dei started to increase their fouls, which put the girls on the line so they were able to score off of free throws. Royals took advantage of this opportunity and ended the third quarter in the lead 35-34.

In the fourth quarter, the Royals were ready to step up and finish this game. Ava Dominguez ’23 made a couple of clutch three-pointers. The Royals started to pull ahead on their lead. The win was just getting closer and closer. Mater Dei kept fouling, allowing Rosary to make their free-throw shots, which sealed the deal.

The Royals ended up winning the game 51-40, giving them the title of 2022 League Champs. Kaylani shared: “The last seconds of the game were unbelievable. To know that we just beat Mater Dei felt amazing, and it was one of our goals coming into this season. So, to achieve it as a whole felt even better.”

Ava Dominguez commented about the win saying, “It was really exciting that this has been one of our goals and we were able to achieve it. That is why it was such a big deal to us.”

Captain Kaylee Byon shared her excitement about the result of the game: “I am really excited because our team had worked really hard for this moment. We knew that Mater Dei was the team to beat, as they are every single year. I knew we had a great chance of beating them this year, but we just needed to focus and work together as a team. I am extremely proud of my teammates for stepping up and hitting big shots when needed. Also, I want to thank Coach Yoon for making the adjustment to our defense because if it weren’t for him, we probably would not have had the same outcome as we did.”

Congratulations to the Varsity Basketball team on becoming League Champions this year and beating Mater Dei!