The Patriots took on Northwest at home on Jan. 10. The team was dominant and won 71-52. “We played really well tonight and it felt really good to dominate a team at home the way we did,” senior Zoey Goldberg said.

Prior to the Northwest game, the team traveled to Clarksburg on Jan. 5. Heading into the game, Clarksburg was 7-0 and looked to keep up their unbeaten streak while Wootton was 4-2 heading into this tough matchup. The Patriots started off well, outscoring Clarksburg 14-12 in the first quarter and outscoring them a total of 27-23 during the first half.

The tide of the game turned at halftime though. The Coyotes came out strong and outscored the Patriots 20-10 in the third quarter, making it a six point game with Clarksburg leading 43-37. Their comeback wouldn’t stop there as they sealed the deal in the fourth quarter outscoring the girls 19-14, making the final score 62-51.

Three days before the Clarksburg game, the team played host to the Quince Orchard Cougars, a team who was 3-3 heading into the game. The team was confident about this game and it showed as they come out strong in the first quarter outscoring the Cougars 14-11.The second quarter was dead even with each team scoring 11 points. Despite the hot start, the team entered the locker room at the half with a three-point lead. Much like the second quarter, the third quarter was another tight one with QO outscoring the Patriots 10-9. However, despite being out scored in the third quarter, the Patriots regained control in the fourth, outscoring the Cougars 16-13.

The final score was 50-45, with the Patriots scoring lead by Goldberg with 28 points. This was the most for any scorer in this game. Fellow senior Katie Gillick had 14 points on offense and played some stout defense stealing the ball three times. In addition to those two standout offensive performances, sophomore Sivan Bennaim had a team high eight rebounds. “Obviously this game was a close one and having Zoey out there really helped us. She definitely helps the team whenever she is out on the court,” Gillick said.
The last game before winter break was a home game against Blake on Dec. 20. The girls went out and completely dominated. Once again the team was led by the senior duo of Goldberg and Gillick. Goldberg had 32 points for the team while Gillick chipped in 18 of her own, and Bennaim had a team high seven rebounds. “The entire team played really well tonight. When we play like that we’re a really tough team to handle,” junior Mary Quackenbush said.

The teams’ next games were at home against Richard Montgomery and at Springbrook but were too late to be covered in this issue.

Sam Greene

Senior Sports Editor