The middle school girls’ basketball teams traveled to Busan Foreign School (BFS) to charge the court in the South Korea Associations for International Schools (SKAIS) tournament on May 22. Despite falling short in their previous Korean International Schools Activities Conference (KISAC) appearance, they returned for their season finale with hard-earned victories.
Varsity kicked off the tournament against International School of Busan (ISB) with Akari Kojima (9) as point guard, Olivia Park (17) as shooting guard, Luisa Silva (34) as small forward, Tracy Kim (1) as power forward, and Minju Koo (99) as center.
The Jets took off with a rough start, dropping the game 2:10. “We didn’t really know how to match up well because we had learned how to do zone defense the day before, so the way we played our defense was pretty new to us.” Silva said.
Shortly after, they faced a co-ed team from Atherton International School (AIS) and Gyeongnam International Foreign School (GIFS). Despite another rough first half, the opponents’ mistakes brought the team to a 10:10 tie with 15 seconds left on the clock.
Koo (99) broke through the defense for a clutch layup, sealing a narrow 12:10 win for the Jets. “Since we lost every single game during KISAC, I was really desperate to win at least one game. I didn’t really have anything in my mind. I just ran and tried to shoot.” Koo said.
DIS lost their captain to an injury in a game against the BFS Sharks. As captain Silva (34) drove toward the basket, a hard shove from an opponent sent her to the floor, forcing her to exit the game in a wheelchair. “I was really sad because I couldn’t help the team. But I heard that the team played really well after, so I was proud of them,” said Silva.
With a key player sidelined, the girls struggled to regain momentum. “Since Luisa’s a reliable captain and one of the best players on our team, I panicked during the game when she got out,” Koo said. The game slipped further out of reach as they suffered a heavy 7:34 defeat.
In a high-stakes rematch, the team cleaned up their offensive sets and walked in with sharper focus. Under the lead of newly assigned co-captain Kojima, quick passes, sharp steals, and clean baskets all contributed to a 14:4 victory, allowing them to clinch third place.
Junior varsity began their journey with high hopes after their previous third place victory in KISAC. With Coach Vis gone at the start of their first match, student coach Amy Kim led the team.
Unlike varsity, JV played on astroturf, leading to several complaints about court conditions. Captain Sophia Sung said, “I felt really demotivated because I was used to playing on a normal basketball court instead of grass. I’ve never tried that before, and kinda thought that we might lose because of it,” said Sung.
The Jets faced off against AIS to start the day with Sophia Sung (0) as point guard, Grace Oh (45) and Sally Park (16) as shooting guards, and Mary Kong (19) and Lumin Crewe (4) as post players.
While the girls gave their all, a free throw from the opposing team led to a close loss (10:11). “I think we could’ve beat them, but we just weren’t used to the fake grass. Additionally, the basketball hoops were closer to the ground than usual, so it was hard to adapt to multiple new changes.” Sung said.
Fueled by the defeat, they approached their next challenge with renewed focus. During their game against BFS, Captain Sung and Oh scored critical shots that allowed them to claim victory (16:13).
Motivated by the opportunity to reach the championship, the girls pushed for a crucial win against ISB. With Coach Crewe’s guidance, they successfully secured their spot in the championship with a commanding victory (22:12).
Like their varsity counterparts, they faced AIS in a high-stakes rematch to close the tournament. Both teams applied intense defensive pressure, locking in with tight man-to-man coverage and allowing no uncontested shots, keeping the score deadlocked at 4–4 until the final seconds.
With the scores still tied, the faceoff pushed into a tense three-minute overtime as both sides battled under pressure to break the deadlock. “Although they beat us in the first match, I believed that we could win if we tried our best because it was such a close call,” Sung said.
With just eight seconds on the clock, Oh (45) drove to the basket and sank a clutch layup. Sensing victory was close, the Jets locked in defensively as the opposing team took possession. Oh said, “I had almost nothing in my head. I just knew I had to take the shot, and I think I got really lucky.”
As the final buzzer sounded, the JV players and bench erupted in cheers as they celebrated the third-place trophy. “I felt really proud of my team because everyone worked together really well. All the other teams were doing very well, and as I’ve watched, there were many close calls in all the games. I think we earned it,” said Sung.
As the season came to an end, Coach Crewe expressed optimism for the next chapter for the middle school girls’ basketball teams. “I saw tremendous growth in the team throughout the season. They learned to play hard and put up good results against strong teams. The girls showed determination and sportsmanship in the tournaments, and I was proud to coach them,” Coach Crewe said.
Mary • Jun 4, 2025 at 7:32 pm
This year tournament was amazing, and it was my first time playing sports. Thank you for Mr. Crewe and Mrs. Vis for being our coach. See you next year with another medal!
Dana Lee • Jun 4, 2025 at 7:27 pm
This article reminds me of the hard work the girls put into winning the games. The photos are taken from great angles!