Facing the Stony Point Tigers in their last game of the season, the freshmen girls’ basketball team had the whole audience on the edge of their seats, on Tuesday Feb. 10. In the final seconds of the game, the Warriors scored decisive points culminating a hard-fought night with a triumphant end, 46-44.

Right from the tip-off, Violet Everard ‘29 instantly took control of the ball, however, it was short-lived, and the Tigers scored the first basket. In a tense back-and-forth battle, Ava Punalekar ‘29 catched the ball and passed it to Everard, giving Aubrey Rose Lawrence ‘29 an opportunity to make the bucket. Soon after this, Everard succeeded in both of her free throws, bringing the score to 4-2 halfway in the first quarter. Following that, both teams kept scoring layups and free throws to the point where the Warriors led by one point, 8-7. With Lawrence passing the ball to Lana Wilson ‘29 and breaking through the Tigers’ tight defence, the Warriors closed the first quarter with a close 13-8.

“Our entire team got beat up quite a bit by the other team,” Elise Webb ‘29 said. “We just had to let it slide and push through because we weren’t getting any calls. It was really tough.”

Heading into the next quarter, the Tigers came out focused on playing offense even more aggressively. With five minutes left, Wilson scored another layup, leading Westwood ahead with three points, 15-12. After both teams traded possessions, the Tigers tied the score 16-16. Keeping strong on the offense, the Tigers eventually overtook Westwood by five points. After recovering much-needed possession, Lawrence scored a layup 30 seconds left on the clock. Succeeding in her last free throw of the second quarter, the Warriors trailed behind the Tigers with a score 21-19.

“It was really exciting at the end and very stressful the whole game,” Everard said. “I think we had pure willpower and we really wanted to win.” 

At the beginning of the third quarter, Everard got a steal from the Tigers, instantly passing the ball to Lawrence and evening the score 21-21. After continued back-and-forth due to both teams keeping the momentum, Everard scored a three-point shot, putting Westwood up by three points, 27-24. This was followed by Wilson getting a steal and scoring another layup, putting the Warriors in the lead once more, 29-26. The Tigers didn’t lag behind for too long though, scoring multiple baskets right after that. Fouling several times and tightening up on the defense, the third quarter ended with the Tigers leading, 33-29.

“Our spirits didn’t get down even though we were losing by a bit in the end,” Wilson said. “But because of our energy and our uplifting spirits, we managed to come back, and I think it’s awesome.”

The Warriors came back on the court determined to win, a mission furthered by Wilson scoring the first shot of the final quarter. Nevertheless, the Tigers succeeded in free throws and a three- point shot, deepening the lead by seven points, 38-31. In a nail-biting fight, both teams once again engaged in a bout of traded possessions in attempts to score. Even after Punalekar scored a three-pointer and Adeliza Hobbs ‘29 made a free throw, the Warriors were still behind by three points. Desperate to catch up with the score, Wilson scored a basket and a free-throw. With a minute left in the quarter, the Warriors were still behind by four points. Less than fifteen seconds left on the clock, Wilson and Everard tied the score 44-44. The whole crowd stood still, watching Wilson score the basket in the last second of the game, bringing home a victory 46-44.

“I love this team,” Lawrence said. “I think we did incredibly. So proud of us.”