Warden girls beat Liberty Christian

WARDEN - Iris Rodriguez scored 17 points, hauled down 9 rebounds and had four steals to lead Warden to a 37-27 home win over Liberty Christian Friday.

"I am really proud of the way the girls played," coach Kristin Brandt said. "Iris really attacked the hoop tonight and Haley Yamane did a great job leading the team at point guard. Everyone on the team is really settling into their roles and it's showing on the floor."

The Lady Cougars got jumped out to a 10-2 lead in a low scoring first quarter. The score held up until the Patriots Izzy Lorea drained a 3-point shot to edge a bit closer, 10-5 as the first eight minutes of play expired.

Missed free throws, shot opportunities and fundamental mistakes by both teams held the scoring down in the second quarter of action as well.

But Warden was able to take  a 16-9 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

The offensive output in the third quarter didn't get much better for the Cougars or the Patriots, as neither team hit a bucket for the first minute and a half of play.

But, Warden managed to put together a 7-4 run to go give the Cougars their biggest lead of the game, 23-13.  The Patriots finally mustarded up an 8-3 run of their own to make a game of it and get within five points, 26-21, as a shot by Liberty Christian's Cassie Hadley found nothing but net at the buzzer to end the third quarter.

The Cougars knocked down the first bucket of the fourth quarter, and went on to outscore the Patriots 11-6 to come away with the 10 point win, 37-27.

Warden is back on the hardwood Friday when the team hosts Royal. Game time is 6 p.m.