
By Robert Balajadia
The St. Paul Warriors are headed back to the IIAAG Girls Basketball Finals after defeating the St. John’s Knights 43-34 in the semifinals Wednesday evening at the UOG Calvo Field House.
St. Paul will face the Okkodo Bulldogs in the finals this coming Saturday evening after Okkodo defeated the Academy Cougars 46-39 in the other semifinals game.
It was anything but smooth sailing for the undefeated Warriors with the Knights keeping close all second half. After trailing 23-10 at halftime, St. John’s closed the 3rd on a 7-0 run to get within 33-30 to put some pressure on the two-time defending champs.
The Warriors relied on their stars as Jan Quintanilla, who was in foul trouble majority of the half, scored eight of her 12 points in the 4th quarter alone. Quintanilla kicked it in to high gear scoring four straight points on layups off steals to keep her team ahead.
St. John’s went cold from the field in the 4th with their only field goal coming in the final minute off a put back from forward Kaia Malakooti.
St. Paul’s Kirsten Silva led all scorers with 13 points and Quintanilla added 12. St. John’s Palomares had a team-high 12 points and Malakooti added 11 in the loss.
Breakdown
Both teams had to shake off early game nerves with neither team able to put up any points in the first three minutes. The Warriors got a bucket from Kim Santos to get on the board and Monica Giger added four in the quarter to put St. Paul ahead 9-4 after one.
Five different Warriors scored in the 2nd with Silva leading the way as St. Paul sat with a 23-10 halftime lead.
St. John’s opened the 3rd with a deep three from Malakooti. Palomares would score six points the quarter with the Knights showing signs of life to get within 33-30. Quintanilla would pick up her third foul early in the quarter which forced her to sit most of the period out.
Jan would break the ice on a scoreless quarter at the midway point, netting a layup in transition. She would follow up with a steal at mid-court that lead to a layup to put the Warriors up 37-31. Late game free throws from Silva and just one made field goals from the Knights all happened in the games final minutes.
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GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
11th
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
19th
SPRINT TRIATHLON, PACIFIC GAMES QUALIFIER
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

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