UAAP: Lady Archers top UST, improve to 7-2

The DLSU Lady Archers survived a late-game comeback by the UST Tigresses to win by six points, 69-63, to snap their two game losing streak.

The Taft-based squad struggled early against the tight defense of the Tigresses. Almost all of the shots from DLSU were contested by UST, causing them to shoot only 36 percent from the field. Tigress Jen Angeles came up big, scoring seven out of her 17 points in the first quarter. Lasallian guard Jonah Mellendres, meanwhile, provided the boost to keep the Lady Archers afloat, scoring five points in the opening period. The quarter ended with a score of 13-15 in favor of UST.

The Lady Archers finally found their rhythm in the second quarter, only allowing the Tigresses to score five points in the period. La Salle turned up the defense, forcing turnovers from UST, using their full court pressure. Coming off the bench, veteran playmaker Camille Claro exploded in the second, scoring nine points and coming up with five steals in the quarter alone. UST, on the distaff, had a nightmare of a quarter, allowing 12 offensive rebounds from the Lady Archers and shooting 43 percent from the free-throw line. As such, the Green-and-White led 31-20 at the end of the first half.

La Salle looked out of sync early in the third, missing a variety of shots in the paint as UST’s sharpshooting guard Candice Magdaluyo made two consecutive three-pointers early to keep the game within distance for the Tigresses. DLSU, however, intensified the defense once again, creating easy points off turnovers committed by their opponents. The Taft-based squad led by as much as 13 points before the Thomasians rallied to get back in contention, cutting the lead by three points with under three minutes left in the third. The Lady Archers bounced back as they made a 6-0 run, ending the third quarter with a 49-40 lead.

The Lady Archers started red hot in the first quarter courtesy of rookie Alyanna Ong’s five straight points including a contested three-pointer. The Tigresses, however, started to inch closer again midway in the final quarter, making back-to-back three point baskets to come within six points. Starting center Cass Santos lifted La Salle, making three straight jumpers to sustain the lead. Both teams exchanged baskets with only three minutes remaining, but a very vital steal by Miller Ong took away the chances for the Tigresses to spur another comeback.

Next up for the Lady Archers is the ADMU Lady Eagles as they gut it out this Sunday, 11 am at the Blue Eagle Gym.

The scores:
DLSU (69)- Claro 15, Santos 13, Garcia 8, A.Ong 8, Piatos 8, M.Ong 6, Mellendres 5, Concuera 4, Vergara2

UST (63)- Angeles 17, Rivera 17, Magdaluyo 12, Cortes 11, Felisarte 5, Gandala 1

Quarter scores: 13-15, 18-5, 18-20, 20-23