Although the winter break was not yet over, a crowd filled the stands to cheer on the Lady Warriors in an old aged rivalry. The Warriors defeated the McNeil Mavericks on Jan. 5, with a final score of 53-36.

Only 34 seconds into the game, Anisha Chintala ‘21 placed the Warriors on the board with a three-pointer. The only sound: the swish of the net. The team focused on a fast pace offense to put the Mavericks behind and another three-pointer was made by Kooper Giles ‘20 with five minutes on the clock. The Warriors maintained a full-court man defense to force turnovers. They successfully returned the ball and earned countless points with this maneuver. Continuing this destructive strategy, the Warriors utilized it on offense to draw fouls and earn free points. Although they remained in the lead, the Mavericks did not fall far behind. The first quarter finished 11-5, and the half, 22-16.

“We continue to grow throughout the season and with every game we play,” Makayla Coy ‘20 said. “We have improved working better with one another and pushing the ball up the court in transition.”

Allyah Beaty ‘18 came into the third quarter and guided her team with an aggressive defense. Back on offense, McKenna Lindley ‘18 and Meaghan Hendricks ‘18 worked together to trap and steal the ball back for an easy two points. Beaty pushed through the sea of white to retrieve her rebound off a missed shot and redeem her attempt. The Warriors now stood on a 10-point lead of 27-17. Although the Warriors made small errors on offense, Coy drove to the basket to end the vicious cycle. Continuing their forceful defense, Coy stood as a sturdy block to prevent any points from McNeil. The third quarter ended at 36-26.

“We started to look like the team we’ve worked to be,” Beaty said. “We got better on our transition plays and looked up the court and for open players.”

At the beginning of the fourth, the Warriors smoothly passed the ball in a cross pattern down the court to secure two more points. This play perfected what the team constantly trains for in practice. The Mavericks raced down the court for an effortless layup, but Beaty caught up and put the Warriors one step ahead of the team. Now with 5:50 on the clock and the scoreboard reading 39-29, the Warriors remained 10 points ahead of the challenging team. Annalise Galliguez ‘20 followed through for another three-pointer. Soon after, Beaty snuck through the Maverick defense for a layup and secured a 44-32 lead. The Warrior offense continued to shine. A half-court pass from Beaty enabled Coy to shoot the ball before the defense could catch up. Kenzie Beckham ‘21 stood wide open and effectively advanced their lead with two more points. Coy sprinted to the basket and completed a layup at the buzzer and the final score read 53-36.

Lindley, who was gone for weeks due to a broken elbow, proved her dominant position on the court and spoke of the team’s game. “It feels so good being back. Being out was hard knowing this was my last high school season,” Lindley said. “This wasn’t our best game but we played well enough to secure a win. We did a good job executing and finding open players, but we need to work on finishing plays and making it count.”

Join the Lady Warriors for their next game against Stony Point on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 7:00 p.m. at Stony Point high school.