The Quantico Middle/High School Lady Warriors Basketball Team, 4-3, looked to easily take out their opponents the Massanutten Military Academy Colonels, 1-4, during a home game Jan. 11.

Coming off of a 34-29 win last week against Holy Family Academy, the Lady Warriors were ready and willing to make short work of the Colonels. The Colonels, on the other hand, had a different plan. Only having one win in the books, they needed a win, not just for the record, but for pride.

“It’s going to be a physical game, so we are going to have to play hard on both sides of the ball,” said Paul Roy, head coach, Lady Warriors. “They have more height than us but hopefully our half-court trap should beat them.”

The Colonels came out strong at the start of the game, taking the lead quickly. Their fast pace kept the Warriors disorganized and were able to draw fouls and score. The Lady Warriors’ “better late than never” defensive push came toward the end of the quarter. The first quarter belonged to the Colonels, 9-8. and that stirred up the Lady Warriors to put even more effort into the second quarter.

The Colonels attempted the same offensive plays that previously penetrated the Lady Warriors’ defense. Instead of the Lady Warriors falling for the old tricks, they made multiple steals and fast breaks, and prevented the Colonels from scoring for four minutes, half of the quarter. To make matters worse, the Colonels were missing more than half of their shots.

Eventually, the Colonels found their groove and began riding the coat tails of the Lady Warriors. Both teams were playing hard with the lead fluctuating between them. At halftime, the game was tied, 21-21.

“When we rebound, don’t just throw it away,” Roy said. “Take a second to make sure a player is open and make a good pass. If we cut down on turnovers, we can beat this team.”

Quantico played like a harder than ever in the second half. The Colonels couldn’t run with the Lady Warriors’ aggressiveness on either side of the ball, and had foul trouble as one of their starters fouled out early in the half.

In the fourth quarter, the Colonels employed a different strategy. They slowed down the pace of the game by walking the ball down and making numerous passes before attempting to make a shot. This made the Lady Warriors anxious and they began aggressively attempting steals and blocks. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the steals and blocks turned into fouls. The Colonels took advantage and took the lead by making the most of their foul shots.

Tension filled the air and everyone in the bleachers was at the edge of their seats during the final two minutes of the game. With the score still tied, the Warriors attempts to get possession of the ball was a consistent team effort but the fouls added up to points and, by the end of the game, the Colonels squeezed out a win, 45-44.

“We made free throws in the fourth quarter that really helped us,” said Ryan Dowler, Colonels head coach. “I haven’t seen a game like that in a long time. I hope we can use this momentum and keep it going into our next game.”