On Friday, Jan. 27, the JV girls’ basketball team beat Cedar Ridge in a last-quarter showdown. The final few minutes of the game mounted in tension as the clock went down and had the audience, including incoming freshmen attending the game for Future-Warrior night, on the edge of their seats.

“I think the game went really well, especially towards the end when we finally started picking up speed and fighting back,” Jackson Bowen ‘26 said.

As it was Future-Warrior night, the energy brought by spectators was high throughout the game, with future Warriors from feeder middle schools cheering on the team.

“It was really fun to see all the incoming freshmen at the game,” Ava Sartor ‘25 said.

The Warriors started strong, matching their opponents and ending the first quarter in a tie. However, despite multiple layups and rebounds by Caroline Dougherty ‘25 and Grace McCluskey ‘26, Cedar Ridge pulled ahead, dominating control of the ball. The third quarter ended with a score of 28-23. The Warriors were behind but still continued to fight to get the ball down the court.

“I think whenever we were able to get the ball to the outside and up to our posts when we were doing a press break we were doing that really well,” Bowen said. “We were able to get it across the court in a timely manner.”

Despite being five points down, the team turned the game around in a tense back-and-forth battle over the final minutes of the game. A quick two-pointer from both McCluskey and Sartor put the Warriors at a lead of 38-36 before Cedar Ridge sank a basket to tie the game back up. Bowen countered with a layup, and Cedar Ridge responded with another successful shot. The score was 40-40 with less than a minute left in the game, McCluskey was fouled going up for a shot. All eyes were on her as she made one of her free throws, putting Westwood up by one point. 

“I think just wanting it more, putting in more effort than we thought we could, really just fighting back was what we had to do and we were able to do that,” Bowen said.

Cedar Ridge called a time-out, and the crowd waited anxiously for the game to continue. When it did, Bowen was fouled driving the ball towards the basket. At this point, Cedar Ridge had over ten fouls, so any additional one scored Westwood two free-throw shots. Bowen took the opportunity to score another point for the Warriors. With the score at 42-40, ten seconds left in the game, and the audience on the edge of their seats, Theresa Bell ‘26 was fouled. She made both of her free throws. The crowd cheered. Westwood had come back from behind, ending the game with a score of 44-40.

“I am so stoked that we won,” Claire Lee ‘26 said.  “I’m just so proud of the rest of my team because they carried what they needed to carry, and I think we really deserved this win.”

Due to weather conditions, the game against Vista Ridge scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 5:30 P.M. at Vista Ridge will likely be postponed and/or canceled.