On Friday, Jan. 20, Lowell’s girls and boys basketball teams faced off against Washington High School in the annual Battle of the Birds. The games were held at Kezar Pavilion for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown. Lowell ended up sweeping the competition, with all three competing teams winning, starting with the boys JV team, who defeated the Washington Eagles with a score of 49-38. The girls varsity team won 52-49. The boys varsity team won 57-44. 

Girls varsity captain, senior Rachael Lin, was very proud of her team’s performance. “We played angry. Our first goal was to play angry,” she said. “We won all those loose balls, we boxed out, hard cuts. We definitely did that.” Going into the fourth quarter, the score was very tight, with Washington only behind by three points. Senior Audrey Lee believed the team handled these moments well. “It was definitely a constant fight. Even when Wash did catch up, we still continued to play our best and play hard,” she said.

The boys varsity game began shortly after the girls varsity game concluded. The Cardinals started strong with an eleven point lead in the beginning of the first quarter. Senior co-captain Brayden Lee thought that every player played well and rose to the occasion. “We went out there and killed it,” he said. “We came really well prepared. And I just feel like we came together as a team.” Fellow co-captain senior Alexander Hedger cited the fans’ support as a major source of motivation during the game. “It helped us out with all the nerves, having a lot of people behind us,” he said. “And knowing that we have a lot of people on our side.”