As the stands were packed with bloody zombies, crazy doctors, and red eyed cheerleaders, the Highland Women’s basketball game began against their rivals East. As the game progressed and points and fouls piled it up, so did the excitement and energy. All of this led to an amazing victory of 60 to 43 over the East Leopards. 

Although the final score had a high number of points, the first quarter started out slow. With only a minimal amount of baskets made, each team had a hard time getting to the net. By the time the buzzer rang for the second quarter, Highland was in the lead 6 to 4, making a good impression against their opponent. But in order to get a win in the end, Highland would need to work on their finishing.

The second quarter proved to be much higher scoring than the first. As East seemed to be more successful at the beginning because they quickly took the lead and kept it for a couple of minutes. But Highland soon came back with their own push to take the lead. Through multiple pushes to the rim by Kija Glasker and a 3 pointer with a few seconds left, Highland sealed their lead for the first half. The Lady Rams made sure East knew who they were up against before heading to the locker rooms.

Halftime was filled with exciting performances by Highland’s Cheer Team and Pep Squad. The students and parents in the stands got pumped up as they watched the spooky and fun event.

The fans at the game were a positive factor in Highland’s win. Paige Cooper agreed with this as well, but wishes that the support was more constant.

“I think that having the support was nice but it would definitely help if we had support more often seeing that we are a top team in the state and we feel that we deserve equal support,” Cooper said.

If the Lady Ram’s team had this kind of support every game, then the results would be amazing.

Throughout the third quarter Highland steadily kept their pace up, but the Leopards did not stay far behind. East had some good plays that included turning a turnover into their own layup. However, the Rams displayed a trick show of their own. Liliana Fifita scored an incredible 2 pointer after throwing the ball over her head and  falling out of bounds. This amazing play and others led to a crowd on their feet and a 5 point lead before entering the final quarter.

The fourth quarter brought along the highest amount of fouls than any of the other quarters. These constant opportunities to get points on the board led to a back and forth attempt to take the lead. Although Highland did foul the Leopards a lot, they made more of an impact on drives to the basket and making the free throws. Glasker once again executed a smooth spin move on an unsuspecting East defender and scored a layup. Through these plays Highland was able to keep their lead until the final buzzer rang, marking Highland with another victory by 17 points. 

The Lady Rams played super well during this iconic Freak East game, but they knew they could have done even better. Cooper felt that Highland played great, but allowed for East to get more of an advantage than they should have been able to.

“I think highland played pretty well over all because East is a good team but we fouled to many times making it a close game in the beginning, Cooper said. 

Even with this uncostly mistake made by Highland, the Lady Rams easily skinned the leopards at this fun game. Be sure to make it to their next game on the 24th against Olympus at home at 5:15.