The girls basketball team ended their regular season on a sour note today, February 19, losing its Senior Day matchup against Saratoga 52-34. Despite a competitive start, the Eagles were unable to keep up with the Falcons in the second half.

To start the game, the Eagles brought put out all four of their seniors in the starting lineup, including co-captain Katie Munro, who was seeing her first action of the season after sitting out the entire year with a herniated disc. However, it was her classmate, co-captain Meg Enthoven, who led the scoring out of the gate, leading the team with four points and three rebounds in the quarter. Los Altos struggled to score, but made up for it in a very physical game by dominating the glass and notching ten rebounds in the opening eight minutes, and the first quarter ended with the teams tied, 7-7.

When the second quarter began, it looked like the Eagles would take control, breaking the Falcon press on their opening possessions and converting easy buckets in transition by Meg with juniors Rachel Lu and Jamie Keston to take a 13-11 lead. From there, the teams would go back and forth, until junior Audrey Jones hit a jumper to give the Eagles a 20-19 lead with 2:13 remaining in the half.

After Audrey’s bucket, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Saratoga, which had been starting to get in a rhythm offensively, pulled absolutely all of the momentum in its favor. Everything went in for the Falcons, and multiple Eagle turnovers led to a 13-2 Falcon run to end the half.

If Los Altos had hoped that the break would stem Saratoga’s tide, they were in for a disappointment. The Eagles only managed only four points in the third quarter, and the Falcons stretched their lead to 43-26. And things would only get worse in the final quarter, as Saratoga stretched its lead to as many as 24 at one point.

The only bright moment came with just over two minutes remaining in the game, when Katie drained two free throws to tally her first points of her final season. When the final buzzer sounded, the Falcons won 52-34.

Despite the unfortunate end to their regular season, the Eagles came into the game having secured a spot in the playoffs, so the teams is guaranteed at least one more game and hopes to make a run in the postseason.