SAN SALVADOR – Anisha George’s double-double performance pushed Virgin Islands into the top half of the Centrobasket standings as they pulled away in the fourth quarter of a back-and-forth battle against El Salvador, winning the game 80-68. Virgin Islands finished Centrobasket in second place, officially qualifying for AmeriCup 2021 in June. 

A back and forth first quarter saw the teams tied up at 23 each with Kimberly Villalobos, ESA’s leading scorer the night before, leading the charge with 7 points and 5 rebounds. For ISV, Taylor Jones and George combined for 21 of the team’s total.

Aida Gonzalez and Emily Moran also scored 6 point each in the quarter for ESA, with four different scorers having at least 4 points.

ISV held ESA to just 10 points in the second quarter, and held Villalobos scoreless, while George scored 5 points and 6 rebounds in the quarter alone. ESA utilized their fast break and transition to get ahead and took an 11-point lead entering the half.

Despite only having 4 points by halftime, Imani Tate of ISV led the team’s playmaking as her impeccable court vision led to 6 assists in the half, the most of either team.

Though ESA continued to fight to stay in the game, cutting their deficit to 9 points thanks to 10 points in 10 minutes for Moran, the force that George brought on both ends of the court, already having a double-double by the end of the third, was too much for ESA to defend.

Tate also went off for 12 points in the quarter, tripling her total from the previous half, as she is one of ISV’s top scorers as well as leading the team in efficiency when on the court.

With just under three minutes to play, ESA trailed ISV by only 7 points, but were unable to stop ISV offensively to cut their lead even further. Second chance points were the difference as ESA allowed ISV to get 18.

Even with ESA’s defensive pressure that stopped ISV from being able to get any outside shots off, last second fouls allowed ISV to increase their lead to 12 with just 10 seconds left in the game.

Villalobos finished the game once again with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Moran scored a team high 25 points while also grabbing 7 rebounds.

Tate was just shy of a triple-double for ISV with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. ISV finishes the tournament with a 3-1 record, second best behind undefeated Puerto Rico.

FIBA