Varsity Girls’ Basketball Conquers McNeil

Jenny Xu, Executive Editor| January 12, 2017

  • Madison Couch ‘17 jumps to shoot a layup.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Jenny Todd ‘19 shoots to add three points to the Westwood score.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Madison Couch ‘17 hustle up the court with teammate Kandyce Shepard ‘17 close by.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Jumping up, Madison Couch ‘17 jumps to block a pass made by a McNeil player.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Meaghan Hendricks ‘18 looks to pass to an open teammate.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Christina Maunder ‘17 powers through McNeil defenders.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Christina Maunder ‘17 starts transitioning up the court after a successful rebound.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Taking a shot, Madison Couch ‘17 attempts to score points for the Lady Warriors.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Sprinting down the court, Lauren Jury ‘17 rushes to score.

    Stephanie Shih
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  • Jenny Todd ‘19 takes a shot from the three-point line.

    Stephanie Shih
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The varsity girls’ basketball team brought home yet another victory in the new year, defeating the McNeil Mavericks 74-30 on Friday, Jan. 6. Displaying their assertive defense as well as aggressive offense, the Lady Warriors were able to hold their opponents to 30 points.

“The lower you can keep a team the better it is,” Madison Couch ‘17 said. “The game of basketball is circled around defense, so the better you do and the lower you keep them the better the game is gonna be.”

The first quarter began with a quick-paced start, with Danielle Davalos ‘19 sinking a three-pointer immediately after the tip-off. The Warriors called their first 30-second timeout with 6 minutes 58 seconds left in the game, followed by Kandyce Shepard ‘17 scoring two two-pointers. The Lady Warriors’ lead only increased after a three-pointer by Jenny Todd ‘19 as well as two-pointers by Lauren Jury ‘17 and McKenna Lindley ‘18. Though multiple fouls by the Warriors allowed the Mavericks to gain points, the Warriors still finished the first quarter 27-9.

Points were racked up by Davalos during the second quarter, with a two-pointer and two three-pointers. A foul by McNeil added more points to the board, while a rebound by Christina Maunder ‘17 led to the Warriors leaving for halftime with a score of 47-17.

“Early on we fouled a little, but later on we started playing our defense with ball pressure, protecting the paint,” varsity coach Doug Davalos said. “Good defense usually leads to good offense and it did.”

Coming back from halftime, the Lady Warriors maintained their strong man-to-man defense, and with effective communication between the athletes, Shepard was able to sink a two-pointer. A pass from Davalos allowed Allyah Beaty ‘18 to land two points with a layup, and the third quarter ended 61-22 when Beaty rebounded off of Davalos.

Going into the last quarter with a 39-point lead, the Warriors were able to gain points through fouls by McNeil. Lindley ran through the Mavericks’ defense to end with a layup, while Meaghan Hendricks ‘18 sank a three-pointer to end the game with a large margin of victory of 74-30. The Lady Warriors’ vigorous defense shined through in the game, as they maintained the lead the entire time.

“Personally, I think I was focused on defense, I had a really good defensive game,” Couch said. “I gave up on some rebounds and I need to make sure I don’t do that in the future. As a team we played really well defensively, we were really focused, and we did what we needed to do.”

The Lady Warriors will play their next home game against Stony Point on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m..