On Tuesday, Jan. 6, Freshman Girls’ basketball squeezed out a 33-22 victory against the Round Rock Dragons. This being their first game after the break, the Warriors finished strong through every quarter and used teamwork as a main weapon against the Dragons.

Starting off the game strong, the Warriors took the lead right away, with Beatrice Marvel ‘29 driving down the court to make a layup. Soon after taking possession of the ball, the Dragons scored a jumper, leveling the score 2-2. Going back and forth between the Dragons quick sliding defense and the Warrior’s fiercely active defence, the first quarter ended with under eight collective points scored between the two teams. The final score of the first quarter was 4-3, with Warriors trailing by one.

“Their defence was really hard,” Marvel said. “They were really up on us. It was hard to make good passes and cut to the basket.”

Actively defending the possession of the ball, the Dragons held their intensity to open the second quarter. The Warriors increasingly focused on their offence, with Violet Everard ‘29 leading the ball movement. Lana Wilson ‘29 scored a layup for the Warriors allowing them to gain their first lead of the game, however this glimmer of hope was quickly followed by a Dragon basket to tie the game with just under three minutes remaining. The second quarter closed with two successful free throws from Marvel to put the Warriors ahead 12-10 going into halftime.

“We came out a little bit shaky,” Aubrey Rose Lawrence ‘29 said. “I think we were just nervous to see our friends again, because we knew this team was going to be hard to win. But in the second quarter we definitely started to get there and by the second half we were doing strong.”

After halftime, the Warriors came out pumped up and were met with the Dragons in a fierce back-to-back half. After Wilson scored the first two baskets of the quarter, the Warriors kept poking holes in Round Rock’s defence, giving a chance for many more offensive opportunities for the Warriors. Sharpening their offense, the Dragons took the lead, making multiple back-to-back buckets. Going back and forth, trying to gain possession of the ball, Lawrence passed the ball across the court to Wilson, allowing her to score another layup. The third quarter closed with Westwood leading 22-16.

“I think we did pretty well. We got a lot of good rebounds,” Everard ‘29 said. “I’ve played club with a lot of them, so it was fun to play against them and I’m really glad we were able to pull it through.”

The final quarter started with Everard driving down the court to settle the Warrior offense. Now having the advantage, the Warriors played smart as they set up plays to get clean looks to the rim. After getting a steal, Elise Webb ‘29 scored a floater for the Warriors. After getting back possession of the ball, the Dragons were granted a free throw opportunity, scoring two more points by succeeding in both of them, despite this the Dragons still fell behind Westwood by ten points, 28-18. Following this, Lawrence made another layup to extend the Warriors lead and close the game with a Warrior victory at 33-22.

“It was definitely hard to run this much after not running for so long,” Lawrence said. “But from all the effort and work these girls have been putting in during practice, I’m really proud of us, and I think we will be at full strength by the next game.”

The Warriors will face off against the Stony Point Tigers in their next game on Friday, Jan. 9.