The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Millikan athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Curtis Boyer.
Wilson’s girls’ basketball team held on to win their Moore League opener against Millikan on Wednesday afternoon. The Bruins started their season at 2-6, but look to restart following their 48-42 win against the Rams.
Wilson head coach Erin Carey described how big this win was for her team after the game. “Huge, this was huge,” she said. “We came off a tough preseason. We took some tough losses that we probably should’ve had, so, the resiliency they showed tonight to come out and beat a tough team shows a lot. Beating Millikan’s never easy, but I thought they played really well tonight and I’m proud of them.”
The win sure didn’t come easy for the Bruins, as the Rams climbed back through numerous deficits throughout the game. Heading into the third quarter, the Rams continued fighting back, with Millikan eventually tying the game at 30 apiece. Throughout the fourth quarter the Bruins eventually pulled away, but the Rams effort and grit was never in question.
“We played to the end, and we can feel happy about that,” said Millikan head coach Lorene Morgan. “There’s lots of things we need to improve on, but I’d rather be lacking skill that we can fix than lack effort.”
Wilson Senior Jade Green was a big contributor to the Bruins, scoring a game high 14 points. The 6-foot-1 forward scored all her points in the second half, including 10 straight in the third quarter.
Green spoke about her second half performance after the game. “I just really wanted to help win it for my team,” she said. “We’ve been working hard and we were super focused, so I knew I had to help us get it done.”
“She was fantastic,” Carey said of Green. “She knew she had to be big today to play against their bigs. (The team) was confident and took care of work and I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Green finished out the final minutes of the fourth quarter with our important points to help the Bruins secure their win.
As for Millikan, center Emily Piper scored a team high 8 points. Piper made a living in the paint, collecting boards and providing extra chances for the Rams throughout the whole game.
“We did a good job of getting the ball back,” said Morgan. “Stealing the ball, knocking it away, getting tied up, but, we’d get the ball and end up on the other end of a bad decision.”
The Rams will have a quick turn around to face Lakewood on Friday afternoon at 5:30 pm.
As for Wilson, the Bruins will also face the Lancers next, hosting them at Wilson on Monday.
