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By Robert Balajadia

Islanders’ Rufina Royster shoots for two with this long jumper. (photo by Jesse Castro)

The JFK Islanders overcame a 30-point performance from St. Paul Warriors sophomore sensation Joy Pangilinan in a 50-42 win to improve to 7-3 on the season. Rufina Royster had a monster performance on the boards grabbing 18 rebounds, 12 of which were on the offensive end, to go along with 13 points.

Islanders head coach Joe Taitano was well aware of the scoring ability of Pangilinan so he designed a defensive strategy right from the opening tip. Taitano had Shaira Cortez play woman-to-woman defense on Pangilinan at all times and as soon as the Warriors started their offense.

“We really respect [Joy] and our defense forced the other players to try and beat us, and it worked really well for us. We didn’t want her to touch the basketball, she’s dangerous,” explained coach Taitano.

It proved to give the Islanders an edge for majority of the game until late in the fourth quarter when Pangilinan exploded.

With the Warriors trailing 44-30 after a three pointer by Islanders Andrea Delin, Pangilinan went to work. Pangilnan drove to the basket and converted on an and-one play to trim the lead to single digits.

Panglinan forced back-to-back turnovers and converted on fast break buckets, including a three-pointer to cap off an 11-point scoring run by Pangilnan alone to trim the lead 48-43.

Royster nailed clutch free throws in the final seconds to officially put the game out of reach.

The Islanders have a prolific center in Alison Bowman, but the Warrior’s interior defense forced the Islanders to attack from the outside.

Warriors’ Joy Pangilinan shoots for two over Islanders’ Brittney Meno. (photo by Jesse Castro)

“We tried to focus in on [Bowman], but she was having a tough time inside because the Warriors post players were doing a good job on her. We wanted to move the ball around efficiently and what really helped us out was the offensive boards. [Bowman] kept the defense honest which allowed our team to get offensive boards,” said Taitano.

JFK held on to a slim 21-18 halftime lead and got a big lift from Anita Onedera in the third quarter to get their first big lead of the game. Onedera hit three-straight three pointers to give the Islanders a 30-20 lead. Royster and Brittney Meno added in the scoring to stretch the lead 38-26 after three quarters.

Pangilnan scored 14 of the Warriors 18 first-half points and finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, and four clutch steals. The Warriors drop to 5-5 on the season.

Other Scores

ND 65, Harvest 58 – Royals Destiny Castro 38 points, Panthers Ashley Mateo 38 points

Harvest 38, Sanchez 29

Southern 60, GW42

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Warriors’ Joy Pangilinan draws out the Islander defenders and dumps the ball to her teammate on the outside. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Islanders’ Brittney Meno sinks the layup putting two points on the board. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Warriors’ Justine Yeban steps up to shoot a short jumper. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Islanders’ Alison Bowman wins the tipoff against Warriors’ Kendra Young. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Islanders’ Rufina Royster steals the ball from Warriors’ Francine Nera. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Islanders’ gathered around their coach during a timeout. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Warriors’ gathered around their coach during a timeout. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Islanders’ Alison Bowman shoots for two just inside the paint. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Completely open for the shot, Islanders’ Anita Onedera shoots the three pointer shot. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Warriors’ Joy Pangilinan shoots for two over Islanders’ Anita Onedera. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Warriors’ Justine Yeban sides steps Islanders’ Anita Onedera two go for the layup. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Islanders’ Brittney Meno sinks another shot with this layup. (photo by Jesse Castro)

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