Prepared to face their notorious rival, the JV women’s basketball team went head to head with the McNeil Mavericks on Wednesday Dec. 3. After an intense fight, the Warriors came up on top with a final score of 42-41. 

“My highlight of the game was definitely my block,” said Elizabeth Lowe ‘28. “I got down and blocked the girl which kept her from scoring which is good being that it was such a close game. Anytime we had the opportunity to slow down their momentum we took it.”

The Warriors started off strong, quickly obtaining the jump ball.The Westwood defense worked cohesively to create a path for Lowe to make the first shot starting the game 2-0. McNeil, attempting to throw off the Warriors momentum, received a foul working in the Warriors favor as the first two free throws of the game were made. In order to maintain their leading start, Westwood defense held constant aggression resulting in a foul, giving McNeil a free throw in which they missed, giving Westwood the ball with ease. Holding the aggression, the Warriors extended their lead to 11-2 after multiple caused turnovers on defense. The quarter ended quickly after with both teams continuing to challenge the ball on defense, the first quarter ended with the Warriors leading 13-6.

“Getting three fouls would definitely be considered a lowlight for me,” Lowe said. “If I got 5 I would then be fouled out which was super concerning being that later a teammate of mine got fouled out.”

Beginning the second quarter with confidence, the Mavericks quickly made several shots throwing off the Warriors rhythm. This swing of momentum brought out an aggressive front from the Warriors, resulting in many defensive fouls. Despite the fouls, the Warriors continue to display their dominance throughout the game by reading the Mavericks passes and forcing interceptions. However, because of the continuous fouls, the Mavericks were awarded several multiple free throws tying the score at 13-13. Not willing to let off their momentum, the Warriors strategically used their teammates and regained the lead with a score of 15-13. The defense was vital in the Warriors success because as the Mavericks constantly regained possession of the ball, the Warriors did not allow a path for them to make a shot. This scoring drought for the Mavericks gave the Warriors an opportunity to advance their lead, ending the half on top with a final score of 20-13.

“Our defense was really important to our game and we worked really hard to maintain a gap,” said Kylie Xu ‘28. “ It also represented how we worked as a team and used each other.”

Going into the second half with a fair lead, the Warriors started with intensity after facing the unfortunate event of losing their leverage to open the second quarter. Julissa Rodriguez ‘28 glided through the moving defenders to score a layup and gain the first points of the half for the Warriors.. Now into the middle of the third quarter a player was fouled out due to excessive aggression. With a current three point difference between the Warriors and the Mavericks, Westwood made three consecutive shots extending their lead to a safer level. Given two free throw opportunities, the Warriors had significantly advanced the score to 34-29. Shortly after a tie up was called and the ball was later brought down to the McNeil end. Despite the persistent effort made by the Warriors, McNeil did not give up on their offensive end. After a quick layup, the Mavericks closed the gap to only three; however, with only a few seconds remaining in the quarter, the Mavericks couldn’t convert a final shot to take back the lead going into the final quarter. The final score of the third quarter was 38-35.

“At the end of our game the gym got really loud and I think that motivated everyone to do better,” Mantra Vivek ‘28 said. “ You could tell that the court changed in the last few minutes because of that”

Entering the final stretch of this close and intense battle between the Westwood Warriors and McNeil Mavericks.Starting off strong, Westwood immediately brought the ball back down to the McNeil net. The Warriors created space to drive for their teammates, however the Mavericks quickly caught on and closed the path to stop the Warriors from scoring. Nonetheless, the Warriors utilized every opportunity they were given, as the Mavericks got hasty and began to start fouling the Warriors were awarded free throws, in which they made both. Immediately after the Mavericks responded by scoring a three pointer to increase their leverage 41-37 Time outs were made by both teams in the last minute of the final quarter, and shortly after the time out a shot was made by the Warriors producing the second tie of the game at 41-41. Being awarded a free throw after a foul by the Mavs in the last 33 seconds, gave the Warriors a winning score of 42-41.

“As much as we should have won by more, winning by one in the very last stretch was definitely a fortunate outcome,” Vivek said. “We shouldn’t have rushed the game but as a team we stepped up making sure the win stays with the warriors.”

After an intense 4 quarters filled with highs and lows, the team maintained momentum and ensured that another win was secured. Despite setbacks such as being fouled out and falling behind the Mavericks the Warriors came back even stronger. The Warriors will take the court again Friday, Dec, 5 against Anderson.