Inspired by their recent win against the UE Lady Warriors last Saturday, the DLSU Lady Archers defeated the UP Lady Maroons, 65-48, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Khate Castillo had a stellar performance as she finished with 22 points, making nine of her 13 shot attempts, while adding seven rebounds. For UP, Therese Medina and Antonia Wong led their squad with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Early back and forth affair
The Lady Archers used their full court pressure early in the game to stifle UP’s offensive attacks, leading 16-6 at the end of the first period. However, the Lady Maroons immediately responded with their own relentless court pressure, causing multiple DLSU turnovers in the second period.
UP went on an early 7-0 run, also making two out of their five attempts from the free throw line. UP’s Daphne Esplana made a big three-pointer, bringing the score to 23-21 with two minutes left in the second quarter. Lady Archer Joahanna Arciga then made two free throws to give La Salle a four-point lead, but UP quickly responded with a lay-up with only three seconds left. The first half ended with the Taft-based squad holding a slim two-point lead, 25-23.
Lady Archers finish strong
Both teams continued to grind it out until the Lady Archers went on a 11-0 run behind two three-pointers from Castillo. UP was sent scrambling as they were already in the penalty midway through the quarter. With only a minute left in the third period, La Salle scored five more points to end the quarter with a 20-point lead, 54-34, their biggest in the game.
In the final period, both teams played solid defense, preventing each other from scoring for almost five minutes. It was Medina who drew first-blood in the sixth minute for the Lady Maroons. Having a 20-point lead at the end of the third quarter gave the Lady Archers a sizable cushion even as UP won the fourth quarter, 14-11. The Lady Maroons went on a 5-0 run, bringing the score to 60-46 at the 1:52 mark of the final quarter. However, it DLSU closed the game with a 5-2 run to clinch their 10th win this season.
The Lady Archers and the Lady Maroons were head-to-head in the rebounding department with 46 and 43 rounds, respectively. DLSU’s starting players contributed huge to the team’s overall score with 51 starter points, compared to UP’s 22. However, the Katipunan-based squad’s bench unit outscored La Salle’s, 26 to 14.
With the result, DLSU remains as the second seed of the tournament with a 10-3 win-loss standing in the women’s division. The Lady Archers will look to end the second round with another win when they take on the ADMU Lady Eagles on Tuesday, November 15, at 8 am at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
DLSU 65 – Castillo 22, Peñaranda 13, Arciga 8, Claro 6, Vergara 5, Torres 3, Nunez 2, Dagdagan 2, Vela 2, Figueroa 2, Revillosa 0, Gonzales 0, Roxas 0, Ali Mohamed El Hadad 0, Malarde 0, Javier 0
UP 48 – Medina 14, Wong 10, Pesquera 8, Esplana 5, Ailermo 5, Tan 4, Ordoveza 2, Rodas 0, Cruz 0, Franco 0, Lapid 0, Viray 0, Gatpatan 0, Ongsiako 0, Villanueva 0
Quarterscores: 16-6, 25-23, 54-34, 65-48
