In spite of their enthusiasm, the girls’ basketball team lost its season opener at home against Acalanes.

“I think we have really good team spirit on the bench,” said senior co-captain guard Ashley Dubrasich. “We have gotten a lot better at cheering each other on.”

While the 1st half ended with Campolindo only trailing Acalanes, 21-23, the Dons pulled away late, with the final score 48-58.

“The 3rd quarter is always really important and I think that we needed to come out stronger and really push the ball, and really try to score,” said Dubrasich. “We sort of slowed it down, which wasn’t the best thing to do, but the pressure of the crowd was kind of stressful.”

Co-captain wing guard Rachel Sniderman said, “There was definitely a different vibe to the game. I think it was a combination of Acalanes being one of our rivals, and just the atmosphere in the gym – increased fans, more cheering.”

“It was cool – on our side. I think it can be overwhelming at times, but I’m not going to complain about having more fans. The thing is they [Acalanes] also had a lot of fans too. It wasn’t just our side. And they [the Acalanes fans] were loud,” Sniderman said.

Head coach Art Thoms said that going into the game, he “knew it was going to be a tough battle.”

“We played them last week and it was a tough, emotional game,” Thoms added.

The two teams faced each other on December 30, where Campolindo also suffered a close loss, 57-53.

Acalanes’ defense and Campolindo’s offense played a large part in the outcome of the game. “I think the press played a big factor in it,” said Acalanes head coach Chad Wellon. “Just not allowing your guards to get set up, not allowing their guards to get entry passes, because I know Coach Thoms really wanted to get the ball on his side, and I think we did a really good job.”

Thoms said, “Defensively, Acalanes works real hard, puts a lot of pressure on the ball.”

Thoms also praised his team’s defense, but said that “offensively, [they] missed a lot of close shots.” Thoms said they played “with a lot of intensity.”

Wellon said, “You know, any time you play your rival, it’s just like you get a good crowd, so you know the girls were great about it, they played inspired basketball, especially in the second half, I could not be more happy for the team.”

The Cougars hope to bounce back from the loss. “There’s a lot of season left,” Thoms said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs and that’s still within reach.”

“I think we need to use the game as motivation to get better, work harder, come out stronger, because we will play them again, and we want to  be ready for that game,” Sniderman said.