The Steinbrenner Warriors girls and boys’ basketball teams both beat the Jefferson Dragons starting their seasons off strong. The boys definitely had a stronger defense, but certain key players really helped the team get ahead at the start. Junior Angelo Sardegna scored five points in the first five minutes. Junior Justin Daniels and junior Riddhi Bannerjee had impressive layups and three point shots. By halftime, the Warriors were up seven points. However, as the Warriors started to gain a significant lead over the Dragons, the Dragons started to come back. The third quarter went well for the Warriors, as they more than doubled the Dragons’ score. The tension really started to build in the fourth quarter when Jefferson was catching up and only a few points away from gaining the lead.
“Seniors helped us keep our heads in the game” said junior Justin Daniels.
At one point, the Warriors were fighting hard as Jefferson kept putting up shots. In the span of 20 seconds, the Dragons were able to score six points. At the end of the game, the Warriors came away with the win and a score of 41 to Jefferson’s 39.
“I thought we were going to win by more, but they came back.” said Daniels.
The Lady Warriors had a very different and energetic game. Up until the third quarter, the Lady Warriors were neck-and-neck with the Lady Dragons. The teams battled bitterly for every point, sometimes up to the point of someone falling or sustaining injury.
“We didn’t give up and it was a combined team effort to get the win. We gave it all that we had.” said junior Kiki Stegeman, who dove onto the floor a few times to fight for the ball.
Senior and co-captain Ashleigh Ingram, junior Sara O’Brien, and junior Julia Madore were clearly the highest scorers of the night. The team definitively pulled away from the Dragons at the end of the third quarter, with Sara O’Brien making a buzzer-beater three point shot at the end of the third quarter. From there, O’Brien and Ingram successfully put up at least five more three point shots.
“When me and Sara were making nine threes in the second half, we’ve never both been on at the same time, and it was really exciting because we were both shooting well.” said senior Ashleigh Ingram, the team’s co-captain.
The next Warrior basketball home game is Dec. 6. with the boys starting at 6:30 p.m.
Sara Gofter // Staff Writer
