The rivalry between the undefeated Woodhaven Warriors and Taylor Griffins paved the way for an intriguing girls basketball game.

Maya Justice and Kamari Dabbs point guard had the job of guarding two of Taylor’s best players. Ella Pappas made the first shot with a three pointer, leaving the Warriors with a great head-start.

Dabbs was very aggressive going against Taylor’s biggest court threat, Alyssa Williamson. Dabbs was bringing the heat by driving towards the basket each time while having the ball. 

The ending of the first quarter was 7-6, Woodhaven leading the score onto the second quarter. When the second quarter began, The Woodhaven Warrior girls had a strong defensive play leading Pappas another 3 pointer splash by a pass from her teammates.

Through the girls’ energy, it brought Dabbs again to go up strong to the net which led her to make it to the free throw line for foul shots. With the 2nd quarter ending, Jenny Hennigar scored a layup, leading the girls to a 17-12 for the half. By halftime, they knew the game shouldn’t be that close. The girls got into a determined mode to finish off the third quarter, with Jenny and Beth’s “twin magic” skills dominating at defense closing in on Taylor player Williamson. 

“I was able to stop anyone who tried to come across me,” Pappas explained. 

“Our goal was to defend and trap the best players on Taylors team which were Williamson and Kursten Von Hoffman,” Dabbs replied.

By the end of third quarter with 24-21, it was time for the girls to put some hustle into their game to get that number one place in the league. By the last quarter, it was go time. Justice had a good lockdown on defense creating an opportunity for Pappas to steal the ball all the way to the net for another banging 3 pointer! 

“The crowd went wild and was filled with excitement,” Justice said. 

After the Warriors received the ball, it got Justice to get another 3 pointer for the team. This allowed the girls to get their groove back by upping the score to 39-24. “This allowed us to get our momentum back to take the dub against Taylor!”  the Hennigars said excitedly. They stayed undefeated for that time period, but as of right now, the Warriors have a record of 5-2 in the league. 

“We still have a chance to win leagues and we are counting on it. We just need to keep our energy high and work together as a team!” Pappas said.