Lady Warriors roll to win

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    On Saturday, the Southern Aroostook Lady Warriors’ half-court trapping defense led them to a 63-39 routing of a banged up Washburn team in Dyer Brook.
    The Beavers are up against injuries to three of their players, who are hoping to be back toward the end of season.
    The Lady Warriors held a 36-15 halftime lead, rotating in fresh legs to keep the pressure on Washburn.
    “I was very happy with our defense in the first half of the game, however in the third period, we came out and kind of lost our momentum,” said SACS coach Jessica Porter. “The girls started fouling and gave Washburn 18 free throws in the second half alone.”
    Even though they didn’t play consistently, they were still able to take a 43-26 lead into the final quarter.
Contributed photograph
‘D’ – Janel Rockwell and Lauren McGary of the SACS Lady Warriors surround Megan Saucier of Washburn.
    “The word that is going to be heard a lot by the Lady Warriors this season is ‘discipline’,” said Porter. “In order to be successful, the girls are going to have to play with discipline. Taking care of the ball, making good choices and being patient on offense, rebounding, and being able to play our aggressive style of defense without fouling. When we play the kind of [attacking] defense we play, fouls are going to happen, but we want to try to cut down on them as much as we can,”
    Leading the offense for the Lady Warriors was Lauren McGary, who struggled last year with injury, but came back with a vengeance on Saturday. She knocked down 23 points, including 12 in the first quarter, along with grabbing 10 rebounds.
    Elizabeth Goodall finished with 11 points and Liz Bergan scored 10 for SACS.
    “As a whole, the girls were pleased with their effort Saturday,” Porter said. “They were happy with their pressure defense, but they also realize there are still areas of their game that they can work to improve.”