The varsity girls’ basketball team started off the new year with a victory against the Hendrickson Hawks on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Displaying smart offensive tactics combined with strong defense that kept their opponents at bay, the Lady Warriors were able to defeat the Hawks 61-44.

“We knew what we were supposed to do defensively,” Madison Couch ‘17 said. “We were really smart with the ball offensively so we had that going for us, I think that led to the win.”

The first quarter began with Kandyce Shepard ‘17 winning the tip-off, leading to Danielle Davalos ‘19 putting up the first four points on the board. Hendrickson fouled several times, allowing more points to be added to the Lady Warriors’ lead. Multiple steals by Couch resulted in Shepard and Marilyn Robinson ‘17 scoring two-pointers, while great communication between Christina Maunder ‘17 and Couch brought the score up 18-6 at the end of the quarter.

Fouls by the Hawks marked the second quarter as the Lady Warriors continued their aggressive offense, with Davalos and Robinson shooting multiple two-pointers. Points from fouls allowed the Lady Warriors to pull even farther ahead, leaving for halftime with a score of 29-16.

Coming back from halftime with a 13-point lead, Robinson put the first points on the board after a Hendrickson foul, followed by the first 30-second timeout called by the Warriors with 6 minutes 38 seconds left in the quarter. Effective passes and communication between Allyah Beaty ‘18, Maunder, and Shepard allowed a total of four two-pointers to be scored by Shepard, helping the Warriors maintain their strong lead of 42-27.

“Mainly this game I was really focused on scoring, especially making those easy shots because if I didn’t I knew we wouldn’t win the game,” Shepard said. “Usually when I have good games, our team has a good game. I really need to focus on my fouls as well, I got about three really easy fouls that I didn’t need to get, but those are things to work on for [the] next game.”

The Lady Warriors’ assertive offense shined in the last quarter, with Robinson sinking two three-pointers. Solid communication between the Warriors allowed Beaty to rack up more points, while Robinson ran through the Hawks’ defense to add another two points. Maunder scored the final two-pointer of the fourth quarter, ending the game 61-44. With their man-to-man and zone defense, the Lady Warriors were able to prevent the Hawks from ever taking the lead.

“Except for the fouls we got I thought we made it very tough for them to get in the paint, and that helped keep them from scoring,” head coach Doug Davalos said. “We limited our turnovers, which didn’t speed them up, and it made us where we could play our half-court defense. I thought for the most part we handled the ball against their pressure, and I thought our defense was good.”

The Lady Warriors will face off against the McNeil Mavericks in their next home game on Friday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m..