In a district matchup with Pflugerville High School, the varsity girls’ basketball team suffered a loss, losing 42-52. Despite the fact that the game was close from the beginning, the Lady Warriors were never able to gain a lead.

The Pflugerville Panthers put the first four points up on the board, though after a foul by the Panthers Madison Couch ‘17 brought up the score 2-4. Clever passes by Ryan Bowen ‘18 allowed Christina Maunder ‘17 and Couch to score two-pointers. Another foul by the Panthers tied the score, though the Lady Warriors fell behind again. With only eight tenths of a second left, Couch sank a two-pointer, ending the first quarter 9-11.

Kandyce Shepard ‘17 scored three two-pointers during the second quarter, rebounding off Couch once. Though the Warriors were also able to gain points through free throws, they were ultimately unable to catch up to the Panthers, and left for halftime with a score of 19-23.

“We need to be able to improve on making sure that we believe the entire game that we can win,” Couch said. “There were lapses and I think that showed defensively and offensively. We had lapses and that’s just never gonna work.”

Strong communication between Danielle Davalos ‘19 and Marilyn Robinson ‘17 led to Robinson making a two-pointer in the beginning of the third quarter. After the Panthers were able to score multiple times, the Warriors called a timeout with four minutes and 52 seconds remaining in the quarter. Meaghan Hendricks ‘18 was able to add a three-pointer to the board, followed by McKenna Lindley ‘18 sinking two two-pointers. Fouls by the Warriors resulted in the third quarter finishing 29-40.

The Lady Warriors gained 11 points in the last quarter, the most points earned out of all the quarters. Shepard was able to rebound off herself, while Couch and Maunder added another six points. Multiple fouls by the Panthers gave the Warriors the rest of their points, and despite their best efforts, the Warriors lost 42-52. However, the loss has provided the Lady Warriors with goals for their next game and given them skills to work on during practice.

“[We need to make sure] when we’re at practice that we’re working on handling the ball, going all out game speed,” assistant coach Jamie Coy said. “We need to make sure that we’re pressuring our teammates so that we’re making them game ready, helping them to be able to make the good choice as far as passes are concerned, and not panicking whenever pressure comes our way.”

The varsity girls’ basketball team will play their next game at Cedar Ridge High School on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m..