The Ateneo Lady Eagles fell short in their season opener against the Lady Archers of De La Salle University (DLSU) with a final score of 38-54 on Thursday, July 4, at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair between both squads. The Lady Eagles ended the first quarter with a slim four point advantage at 12-8.

The girls in green countered the Lady Eagles in the second quarter, quickly reversing the momentum of the game. DLSU outscored the Ateneo on a 17-7 run that propelled the Lady Archers into halftime with a 25-19 advantage.

With Danica Jose leading the way as the Lady Eagles’ defensive anchor, the Ateneo team slowly chipped through the Lady Archer’s buffer. With key plays and buckets from Cara Buendia and Kat Nunez, the Lady Eagles regained the lead at 31-29.

The Lady Archers quickly retaliated, forcing a deadlock at 33-all by exhibiting an aggressiveness to get to the free throw line. However, Ateneo’s Binky Uy De Ong quickly answered the call: Shooting a huge rainbow three with under a minute left in the third quarter, she managed to reposition the Lady Eagles on top at 36-33.

Unfortunately for the Ateneo, the Lady Archers let loose an all-out offensive barrage in the fourth quarter. DLSU outscored the Ateneo 21-2 with the Lady Eagles’ points coming only from two split trips to the free throw line.

In addition, the Ateneo crumbled when it came to taking care of the ball. DLSU’s defense caused the Lady Eagles to pile up multiple errors; ADMU racked up a total of 26 turnovers compared to La Salle’s 14.

Despite Jose’s all-around effort, which included an intimidating presence on the defensive end with her four blocks, the Lady Archers proved relentless on the offensive end.

DLSU’s Inna Corcuera proved too much for the Ateneo as she muscled her way inside the paint with multiple offensive rebounds and well-positioned shots. Accompanied by Ara Abaca’s smooth perimeter offense and a three pointer down the stretch by Miller Ong, the Lady Archers easily cruised to a 54-38 victory in the game’s final frame.

Box scores:

DLSU 54 – Abacca 12, Piatos 11, Corcuera 11, Santos 9, Ong 5, Vergara 4, Melendres 2

ADMU 38 – Buendia 11, Nunez 9, Uy De Ong 8, Jose 5, Posadas 2, Javier 2, Aseron 1