Lady Warriors battle before the new year

The on-court referee had to separate players during the JV game. Two Warriors players were ejected with Socorro playing 5-on-3 during the final quarter against Wingate.
Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain

Three days before the 2022 New Year, the Lady Warriors basketball squad welcomed the Wingate Lady Bears for a winter meeting. No love was lost between the teams during the holiday game. The JV team started things off with a closer than the scoreboard showcased affair, winning 43-29. Varsity finished with a 38-26 final score.

“Games like this are very important,” JV Coach Christie Chavez said. “We’ve got a lot of girls dedicated here today. Right now we’re working on sportsmanship in every game as well as working together as a group.”

The Lady Warriors came out fast against Wingate. Three straight steals and fast-break scores had Socorro coming out of a hole that put the girls up 25-14.

A benches-clearing brawl that had referees separating players took place in the second half. A double technical was administered with the Lady Warriors playing down two players toward the end of the game, resulting in a 43-29 JV loss.

Wingate coach Tyson Houston mentioned a level of animosity between the teams as far as the on-court fight was concerned.

“Even before COVID, these games have been tough. If there is some visual type of tensions on the court we try to take the players out. Always tell the players to be the better person in situations like this.”

It was a different story for the varsity girls. Senior Taelene Fowler found the net first off with a big three. Ball movement had the Lady Warriors up in a hurry. Ally Martinez was using her strength and size in the paint, imposing her will against the Wingate defense.

“It was a rough first half,” Martinez said. “But once we settled in, our team was able to find a groove and get a win. Our chemistry is coming together.”

One of the biggest problems for the Lady Bears under the basket was junior Jalyndria Jackson driving the lane for Socorro. She was, however, not a fan of having to play during the holidays.

“I love my team and my teammates,” she said. “We worked together as a team which is what I’m always proud of. But this was really strange to be playing during the holidays. But I have to say the crowd definitely got us pumped up today.”

Head coach Juan Alvarado was excited to lead his team towards a win before the end of 2021.

“This was an ugly win, but I’ll take it no matter what,” he said. “With the holidays you don’t have your team at full strength. I’m just glad that we got this win. Once the holidays are over we can go and compete at full strength. Discipline is the number one thing to work on going into 2022.”

Conference rankings have not been placed yet. The Lady Warriors currently sit with a 5-3 early 2021-22 record.