The JV girls’ basketball team had an intense game against the Cedar Ridge Raiders on Friday, Jan. 11. After a close match with multiple turning points and fouls, the Warriors fell to the Raiders 46-40.

Cedar Ridge began the first quarter by gaining an immediate four point lead, and the Warriors fought to close the gap with rebounds and steals. There were a few fouls made by the Raiders which lead to the Warriors’ first point, a free throw made by Elizabeth Joyner ‘22. Soon after, Emma Zion ‘21 stole the ball from the Raiders and Megan Luu ‘21 scored a two-pointer. Williams made a two-pointer as well, but the Warriors still ended the first quarter trailing the Raiders 11-5.

“I think if we would have played as hard as we did in the third and fourth quarter, we probably would’ve won the game,” Joyner said. “Everyone just played their hearts out though.”

The second quarter began with the Warriors losing the ball to the Raiders several times, as well as committing some fouls. However, they brought their game back towards the middle of the quarter, with Dinah Bray ‘21 scoring several two-pointers. Peyton Halley ‘21 and Williams also scored a two-pointer each, bringing the score to 19-13, and Caroline Hand ‘22 made multiple rebounds. The Warriors lost their momentum though, and they went into halftime with a score of 28-13.

“We did way better rebounding and getting the open shot,” Bray said. “Our cuts were a lot harder, making us get open a lot more easily.”

The Raiders opened the third quarter with a two-pointer, and continued to keep their lead as the Warriors missed several shots and continuously lost possession of the ball. The turning point in the quarter began with Serena Baruah ‘21 getting fouled on and then making a free throw. After that, the Warriors were on a roll with several shots made by Joyner, Halley, and Baruah, and multiple steals and rebounds by Luu. Towards the end of the quarter, Rylee Crider ‘21 began a shooting streak that would continue into the fourth by getting a rebound and making a three-pointer. Hand got fouled on and made a free throw, which ended the quarter with the Warriors lessening the gap 34-26.

“[Since] we lost our first game to them, I was ready to be like ‘this is our house, you’re not going to beat us in our house’,” Williams said. “We knew we had to come out [into] the second half hard, get ‘and one’s’, get fouled, and be enthusiastic.”

The Lady Warriors gave it their all in the last quarter, beginning with rebounds by Williams and Bray, two free throws by Hand, and a two-pointer and a three-pointer by Crider, which put them just behind the Raiders with a score of 35-34. The Warriors were set back by a couple of careless fouls, but recovered with a three-pointer by Baruah. A foul was committed against Williams, but she still managed to score another two-pointer. In the end, the Raiders secured their lead and the Warriors lost the game with a score of 46-40.

“[We] played really good defense against the some of the best players on the other team,” Joyner said. “I think we played really hard and that’s all that we can do.”

The Lady Warriors will take on the Hendrickson Hawks on Tuesday, Jan. 15.