The DLSU Lady Archers succumbed to the UE Lady Warriors, 82-79, earlier today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The loss gives La Salle a 2-10 record with two games remaining in UAAP Season 80.
Khate Castillo scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds in the losing effort while Angel Figueroa chipped in with 15 points. Team captain Marga Dagdagan had 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, and a steal but committed three turnovers, with the third coming in the final 90 seconds of the game.
Eunique Chan led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Ruthlaine Tacula and Anna Requiron combined for 34 points to secure the win for the Lady Warriors. Love Sto. Domingo also had a double-double as she finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Frenetic first half
The first quarter started with Sto. Domingo scoring a basket 30 seconds into the game but the Lady Archers answered back with Dagdagan setting up Bernice Paraiso for a lay-up. Both teams remained scoreless until the 7:01 mark as Sto. Domingo broke the deadlock with a layup to give the Lady Warriors a 4-2 lead. Castillo gave the Lady Archers their biggest lead of the half, 12-8, after she made a two-point basket at the 2:50 mark. Following Castillo’s field goal, the Lady Warriors held the Lasallians to only three points to take a one-point advantage heading into the next quarter, 16-15.
Lauryn Del Campo made a two-point field goal to start the second quarter to give La Salle the lead, but Chan converted two free throws and a lay-up to take the lead back for UE, 20-17, at the 9:07 mark. Both teams exchanged baskets throughout the quarter but it was the Lady Warriors who finished the half on top, 45-39.
“We were controlling the game for the first quarter, until the half of the second quarter, but we just had mental lapses towards halftime,” said head coach Cholo Villanueva.
Thrilling finish
The Lady Archers played better in the second half as their defense tightened up while their shots started to fall in. “We just adjusted to what UE was doing. I reminded the girls about their press break, on our execution on the half court, and then to box-out dahil they got 16 second chance points, so that’s what we adjusted,” explained Villanueva.
Castillo led the comeback as she converted a three-pointer to start off the third quarter as the Lady Archers unleashed an 11-2 run to build their biggest lead of the game, 53-47, at the 6:08 mark of the third period. In that run, Castillo scored five points and notched an assist as she found Charlene Javier for an easy basket. The Green-and-White were unable to sustain momentum as they failed to score in the last 2 minutes and 32 seconds of the quarter and the Lady Warriors capitalized on that as they made a 9-0 run to take a four-point advantage, 64-60, heading into the final canto.
Sto. Domingo had to come off at the 5:28 mark of the fourth quarter due to injury as she lost balance after completing a pass to a teammate following a rebound play. The Lady Archers took advantage of her injury as Castillo and Figueroa had a three-point basket and a three-point play respectively to take a 74-72 lead. The Green-and-White had chances to close out the game but a crucial turnover by Dagdagan, a missed free throw by Figueroa, and the steady free throw shooting of Sto. Domingo, who returned to the game a few minutes after her injury, denied the Green Archers their third win of the season.
With just two games left in the season, the Lady Archers will look to halt their losing skid against the FEU Lady Tamaraws on November 12, at 10 am.
The scores:
DLSU 79- Castillo 19, Figueroa 15, Dagdagan 10, Vergara 8, Del Campo 8, Javier 6, Nunez 6, Paraiso 4, Torres 3, Jimenez 0
UE 82- Chan 21, Tacula 20, Sto. Domingo 18, Requiron 14, Ramos 5, Cortizano 2, Francisco 2, Gayacao 0, Nama 0, Antonio 0, Strachan 0
Quarter scores:
15-16, 39-45, 60-64, 79-82
