Turning up the intensity for their first scrimmage of the season, the varsity women’s basketball team went head-to-head against the Copperas Cove Bulldogs on Tuesday Nov. 11. After a nail biting game, the Warriors dominated the competition, winning the game 44-34.

“Going into the game we wanted to put our best foot forward and start the season on a high note,” Haydn Espinoza ‘26 “Even though it was a scrimmage it still meant a lot to us.”

Taking the tip, the Warriors quickly got a jumpstart on the game by achieving the first possession to swing momentum in their favor. To keep this energy alive, Vivian Hapka ‘26 scored the opening points of the game in the paint after an assist from Espinoza at the outside wing. Hoping over to defense, the Warriors played in a high pressure zone defense that leaned heavy on their aggressive box out and rebound skills. Despite the Warriors tight defense, the Bulldogs managed to score a 3-point shot to put their first points on the board and take their first and only lead of the game, 3-2. 

While the Warriors played a clean game throughout all parts of defense, the Bulldogs didn’t, starting their foul trouble early and giving Hapka a chance to have a three-point play. This overly aggressive tactic only buried the Bulldogs deeper in trouble, allowing the Warriors to have multiple opportunities from the free throw line, and resulting in the Lady Warriors climbing the scoreboard to 9-3. Iman Xu ‘28 contributed immensely to the Warriors defensive hold with multiple blocked shots and steals against the Bulldogs.

Not only did the Warriors lean heavily on their rebounding, but also their ability to read passes and gain possession from steals with multiple players all across the court contributing to this stat. As the quarter rolled to a close, Hapka added two more blocks to her already decorated game. The first quarter ended with the Warriors up by five and a score of 12-7. 

 “On defense we started out in a two-three,” Athena Skevofilax ‘26 said. “This really worked for us because we were able to pack the paint so they couldn’t get into driving lanes.”

Continuing previous risky trends, the Bulldogs opened the second quarter by fouling early. With the momentum holding favor towards the Warriors Hapka took an easy layup to secure the Warriors two more points on the half. While the Warriors continued to stay successful in lay ups and shots from the paint, they’re success from the three-point line was a different story. However the Lady Warriors don’t let this limitation knock down their aggressive play. While the Warriors were successful at holding the Bulldogs, they also struggled to continuously put up points. Because of this, the Warriors call a timeout to regroup with hopes of beginning to rack up the score again. 

Flying out of the timeout, the Warriors jumped right back into action, as Emily Fry ‘29 grabbed an offensive rebound and cleaned up the shot to add two more points to the Warriors board, 18-12. Not only were offensive rebounds crucial to push the Warriors back into their flow but on the other side of the court Theresa Bell ‘26 led her team in securing numerous defensive boards to take away the Bulldogs opportunity to score. Finding their rebounding rhythm as well as their shot placement, allowed the Warriors to end the first half with a comfortable lead of 20-12.

“Rebounds help us get second chances,” Espinoza said. “The effort was really helpful to get more shots up and get better opportunities.”

The Bulldogs pulled out of halftime with stamina, as they continued to stay hungry for the win. Still the Lady Warriors didn’t let this confidence break them, as Xu secured multiple back-to-back steals for her team yet again. Not only this, but Xu converted on these steals, racking up points from within the paint for the Warriors. With the hopes of stopping this run, the Bulldogs called a timeout quickly at the start of the half. 

Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs began to narrow the score by putting up some shots of their own. After considerable efforts, the Bulldogs managed to pull the score up 29-26, only trailing by three, making this the closest point gap of the game since 5-3 early in the first quarter. The Warriors continued to stay calm however and focus on consistently good trends they had held throughout the entirety of the game, such as boxing out and aggressive rebounds. To close the third quarter, Bell hit a buzzer beater three that sent the team on their feet. The final score of the third quarter was 34-31. 

“I think we got complacent and felt more comfy and relaxed with the score in the beginning of the second half,” Espinoza said. “Coach Payton reminded us to continue to apply the same pressure we opened the game with once we realized the score became close again.” 

To keep the grasp of the momentum left at the end of the third quarter, Xu made a jumper for the Warriors to rack up the first couple points of the final quarter. As the Bulldogs began to play more aggressively, so did the Warriors. Flustered and frustrated, the Warriors sent the Bulldogs to the line and threw away multiple possessions under the Bulldogs pressure. Even with this high emotion, Bell made a clean layup to push the Warriors through this rough patch. Reciprocating the same energy on defense, Espinoza played tight body defense to force a caused turnover, and place pressure on the Bulldogs. As the Warriors fish themselves out of their hole, they manage to extend their lead to ten. Because of this large lead, the Bulldogs called a timeout, hoping to come back in the final few minutes of the scrimmage.

While the Bulldogs began to attempt and clean up their play, it was too little, too late as the clock was not on their side. The Warriors held possession of the basketball out of the timeout and moved it quickly in an attempt to dwindle down the small remainder of time left in the scrimmage. Successfully doing so, the Warriors came out victorious with a final score of 44-34. 

“We came into the game really hot,” Skevofilax said. “We were ready to work on defense to give ourselves breaks on offense. I think this was a really good defensive game for us.”

The Lady Warriors will face the Vandegrift Vipers to attempt and hold their successful record on Tuesday, Nov. 18.