Lady Eagles defeat Lady Bulldogs in first game of the season

It was a sweet come from behind victory for the Ateneo Lady Eagles as they defeated the National University Lady Bulldogs, 51-39, Wednesday morning at the Blue Eagle Gym.

Home-court advantage seemed negligible for the Lady Eagles at the start of the game. Only Denise Tiu and Danica Jose were able to sink field goals in the first 10 minutes. The Lady Eagles were down 8 points after the first quarter 5-13.

A more dismal second quarter came for the Lady Eagles. They were only able to score 3 points, all from the freethrow line. Ateneo missed easy baskets and committed a number of errors due to NU’s pesky defense. At the half, the Lady Bulldogs had a 13-point lead, 8-21.

The first few minutes of the third quarter saw the lead of NU balloon to 19. But it wasn’t over. Head Coach Cris Quimpo somehow breathed new life into the Lady Eagles and they started running and gunning up and down the court. Ateneo scored 23 big points in the third canto, including 3 three-point shots from Samantha Ong, The Lady Eagles went on a 14-0 run as the quarter ended and they were finally able to tie the game, 31-all.

Everyone in attendance at the Blue Eagle Gym, including former Lady Eagles Kat Quimpo, Cassie Tioseco, and Treena Limgenco, were on their feet as the fourth quarter started. Three leadchanges and two deadlocks after, the Lady Eagles led for the rest of the game. The Lady Eagles were able to hold NU to only 8 points in the final quarter while they got 20 points. When the buzzer signaled the end of the game, the Lady Eagles had a 12-point lead over the Lady Bulldogs, 51-39.

Ong topscored for the Lady Eagles with 11 points while Jose and Team Captain Sarah Mercado chipped in 9 points each. The Lady Eagles also made 6 three-point shots in the game while NU wasn’t able to sink any of their 17 attempts beyond the arc.

The next game of the Lady Eagles will be on Sunday, July 17, 1 pm against UST. All Women’s Basketball games will be held in the Blue Eagle Gym.

SCORES: Ong 11, Jose 9, Mercado 9, Tiu 7, Chua 4, Dogong 3, Bo-ot 3, Estrada 3, Morales 2, Aseron 0, Castro 0, Javier 0, Dimaano 0