S

On Monday night, the Lady Rockets won in dominant fashion over the Lady Patriots 41-17 while the Rockets held off a late charge by the Patriots for a 48-30 victory at Joel Vinson Gymnasium.

Westwood Lady Rockets

The Lady Rockets played well defensively at the start, outscoring the Lady Patriots 10-3 in the game’s opening quarter.

Westwood’s good start on defense continued into the second quarter, as the Lady Rockets didn’t allow a single point to help build up a halftime lead of 21-3

The Lady Patriots tried to make things closer in the third quarter, but the Lady Rockets still held a 34-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter, where they would finish things off, 41-17.

“Well, I have given them a few days off of practice, probably the first time I’ve done that since I’ve been coaching for five years,” said Coach Shala Ferrell. “We did better than I expected for us to be off for four days. We missed some shots that we should have made, but I was proud of our effort defensively. I want us to gain some confidence on offense and I want all of our girls to feel comfortable taking open shots and believing that they can make open shots whether it be in the beginning of the game or the end.”

With three games left in the regular season, the Lady Rockets are 9-4 with a 6-1 mark in conference play.

Box Score: Liberty Lady Patriots (17) Arleigh Smith 9, Emma Coats 4, Everlee Gill 3, Brook Ledbetter 1.

Westwood Lady Rockets (41) Jerzee Ferrell 21, Zallona Dillard 12, Mia Ahlijah 5, Lyza Cashion 2, Amelia Johnson 1.

Westwood Rockets

The Rockets raced out to a dominant start, outscoring Liberty 16-2 in the first quarter.

Both teams scored seven points apiece in the second quarter, and Westwood still held a 23-9 advantage at the half.

The Patriots tried to chip away the lead in the third, but the Rockets still held a 36-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Liberty’s defense applied some serious pressure to Westwood in the fourth quarter, whittling the deficit to almost single digits at one point, but the Rockets regathered and held on for a 48-30 win.

“When we came out in that second half, I feel like we started forcing shots instead of moving the ball around and looking inside,” said Coach Anita Gannon. “Once we calmed them down and told them the play I wanted them to run, then they got back focused and started to swing the ball around. Moving forward, I want to see them be more mentally prepared.”

The Rockets improve to 7-6 overall and 5-2 in DRVC play with three games to go.

Box Score: Liberty Patriots (30) Boone Gray 9, Sebastian Casteel 9, Emmanuel Cruz 7, Breck Themm 3, Cole Roddy 2.

Westwood Rockets (48) Levi Jordan 11, Luke Christian 10, Trenton Tanner 10, Brock Christian 8, Kayden Campbell 4, Hayes Shemwell 3, Kingslee Miller 2.

Westwood basketball will travel to Community for their next conference battle on Thursday, Nov. 21.