Sealing a 12-3 overall record before even entering district play, the Lady Warrior basketball team shut down Berwick College Cougars, an Australian team on their USA tour. Although the Lady Warriors were  missing their traditional starters, they executed effective plays and triumphed over the international team. The final score reached 50-31, but ended with both team exchanging gifts to remember the rare occasion.

Upon entering the first quarter, Allyah Beaty ‘18, Meaghan Hendricks ‘18, Christy French ‘19, Annalise Galliquez ‘20, and Kooper Giles ‘20 walked onto the court as the starting five. Beaty immediately led the Lady Warriors as point guard and set an example of powerful and successful defense. The Cougars scored first, but once a shot was made, Lady Warrior posts jumped for the rebound consistently and continued to get the ball back. French made the first points for the Lady Warriors. With 4:50 on the clock, Galliquez shot a clean three pointer and only the swish echoed until the crowd cheered with excitement. Kenzie Beckham ‘21 ran in and gained three points from a single shot to ensure a lead. While putting up a tough man-defense, Beaty jumped to intercept a Cougar pass, raced for the basket, and passed to Hendricks who scored on a layup. The quarter ended and the scoreboard read 10-9, Lady Warriors in the lead.

“We’ve been learning a new varsity without our starters. People who haven’t played with us really stepped up and started to pick it up. It’s giving them a chance to get playing time they wouldn’t usually have,” Hendricks said. ”We have better ball movement and improved defense.”

Galliquez started the second quarter by deflecting a Cougar pass for a turnover. The Lady Warriors struggled to execute a successful play on offense, but as coach David Davalos shouted, “pass it to Christine and shoot it!” from the sideline, the players followed direction and French immediately completed a three point shot (13-12). Beaty continued to interject in the Cougars offense for several turnovers. This allowed the team to easily gain points and draw the foul. Galliquez and Beckham added to the score with free throws and effortless layups (19-12). Hendricks prevented a back-court foul by running for the rolling ball and saved the Lady Warriors on offense. 24-13 illuminated the gym as the teams exited the court for halftime.

“We were a lot more paitent on offense which was good because we needed to preserve our energy,” French said. “I think not having of our two best players made us stronger because we had to learn to overcome the challenge of them not being there.”

To start the third quarter, the Cougars attempted to pass the ball in from out-of-bounds, but Beckham caught and shot the ball right in front of the Lady Warrior basket (26-13). The Lady Warriors made several layups by approaching the net through the middle. 2:30 left and Hendricks power dribbled and pushed past Cougar defense to put the ball in and change the score, 32-23. Kooper aggressively rushed to the basket and scored with 23 seconds left in the third. It ended 36-25.

Beaty and Kooper both forcefully boxed out on defense and fought for jump balls. French performed a quick save, jumping to stop the ball from going out of bounds and skillfully threw it to Beaty. Another layup from the middle by Hendricks put the score at 38-25. Beaty boldly hustled through the defense and drew several fouls for the opportunity to shoot free throws. Archita Sivakumar ‘18 scored with 1:52 left in the game and turned the ball over to ensure the Lady Warrior lead, 50-31.

“Playing the Australian team wasn’t that difficult,” Beaty said. “We just made it harder on ourselves when we let loose by dropping the ball and not talking to each other on defense. Their team’s defense was good, but we have handled tougher ones.”

Join the Lady Warriors Tuesday, Dec. 12 for their first district game against Pflugerville.