Kicking off their latest preseason match with confidence, the women’s varsity basketball team stepped onto the court ready for a challenge as they faced the McNeil Mavericks on Tuesday, Dec. 2. A tight first half kept both sides battling for control but the Warriors found their spark, securing a strong 56-40 win.

“Staying calm and collected as a team and reminding each other to stop messing around and get the job done helped us win,” Vivian Hapka ‘26 said. 

Westwood made an immediate statement, with Iman Xu ‘28 opening the game by blocking McNeil’s first shot. Moments later, early Maverick fouls sent Hapka to the line to score the first points of the night. A clean finish from Evelyn Bell ‘27 and another basket inside by Hapka pushed the Warriors ahead 7-0 before McNeil got on the board. Although the Mavericks tightened the gap with late baskets, the Warriors still held the lead 13-12 at the end of the first quarter.

“When the scores close it helped me to remain calm and talk to myself so I could remain disciplined,” Theresa Bell ‘26 said. 

In the second quarter, Hapka and Bell both utilized the Mavericks weak inside defense, scoring multiple baskets from the paint to maintain the lead. A handful of defensive violations from the Warriors set them at a disadvantage and allowed McNeil to tie the game briefly. Following this tie, the Warriors called a timeout to strategize a better defensive stradogy.After the timeout, the Warriors regrouped, sharpened their defense, and started communicating more. With this new gameplan, the Warriors secured the lead to close the half at 24-21.

“I’m really proud of Vivian’s performance,” Bell said. “She put up a lot of key points for us that we needed, so that really helped us get our momentum going.”

McNeil opened the third quarter with energy allowing them to quickly score the first basket of the half. However Westwood immediately responded with Hapka attacking the rim with a confident basket inside, after bodying her way through to create room. With the Warriors now up 31-28, Xu continued to disrupt McNeil’s offense, jumping passing lanes for steals and turning them into fast break chances that shifted momentum firmly back towards Westwood. 

Several Maverick fouls put the Warriors at the line, allowing them to expand the gap even when the pace slowed. As the quarter wound down, Hapka found her rhythm again, stringing together multiple drives to close the third quarter with a gracious eight point lead at 41-33.

“Our adjustment to play faster and more aggressively in the second half put us up by a lot more and allowed us to gain a comfortable lead.” Hapka said.

Carrying that energy into the fourth quarter, Westwood focused on pushing the ball in transition and maintaining control of the tempo. Lola Montana ‘26 finished a clean look at the rim off a quick outlet pass, stretching the lead into double digits. Xu continued to anchor the defense, forcing turnovers that kept the Mavericks from snatching back any momentum for themselves. 

As McNeil grew weaker Westwood was ready to attack as they kept their composure by moving the ball with patience and getting to the free throw line. Even in half court sets Westwood’s speed and decision making gave them clean opportunities to finish possessions. In the closing minutes, Westwood outscored McNeil, sealing a 56-40 victory. 

“A strategy that helped us most during the game was pushing the ball on offense, it helped us get a lot of transition buckets which was helpful when the game got close,” Bell said. 

The Lady Warriors will take on Anderson high school on Friday Dec. 5 aiming to keep their winning momentum alive.