The Paly girls basketball team defeated Mountain View 58-37 tonight in the Peery Center.

The Lady Vikes maintained a stable lead throughout the game and made their mark early in the game, putting up 20 points by the end of the first quarter against the Spartans’ 12.

“The pace of the game is what we wanted,” remarked coach Scott Peters, “Carly [Leong (‘21)] came out and had a good game.”

That same ferocious pace continued into the second quarter, with Mountain View only being allowed a mere four points by the time the half came to a close. At the half, Paly was still on top with a score of 20-16 and had Ellie Jeffries (‘19) to thank for numerous helpful assists.

The second half was a continuation of the success that the Viking’s had gotten so used to the first; they were dominating at the end of the third with a score of 32-16 and ended it all with a convincing 58-37 win.

Teamwork seemed to be a crucial component to tonight’s win, with Annika Shah (‘21) commenting on a teammate’s notable improvement when asked about some of the game’s most memorable moments.

“Gracie [Thayer (‘20)] making her four layups [was a highlight]; she’s been practicing her layups and it’s great to see her hitting them now,” Shah said.

Coach Peters also commented on the togetherness that the team displayed throughout the night.

“I thought we moved the ball around well and shared it with each other,” Peters said.

Both Peters and Shah agreed that defense was the team’s weakness throughout the game, and will be emphasizing simply being more calm with the ball and forcing fewer plays.

The Lady Vikes are looking ahead to their next game, a sure-to-be-intense matchup against Santa Clara on January 30th at Santa Clara High School.