The Arabians have had some good competition these past few games. Last week they battled the Hondo Owls for the “Devine Creek” title beating Hondo with a score of 39-36.

“The Hondo rivalry game is always intense on both sides of the court,” junior Yessika Garza said. “We were down most of the game, but at the end the whole team picked up the energy on defense and made two clutch threes for us to take the win. Our defense and the energy on the bench really got the tempo of the game going, we were not going to lose that game.”

They also hosted Poth on Friday and traveled to Fredericksburg on Saturday. Last year the Arabians lost to Fredericksburg in the Regional Tournament during playoffs. With players jumping in and out of healthiness, the Arabians have played without a full squad for the past three games; however, they continue to play hard and fill roles they don’t normally play.

“With multiple of our girls out we all have to step up,” senior Madison Matta said. “We are moving the ball a lot better and talking more on defensive and that’s always an improvement.”

With district coming up after the Christmas break, the girls are putting in hours of practice to make sure they are ready.

“These past few games have been pretty challenging playing against talented teams,” senior Allyson Taylor said. “Playing against scrappy aggressive teams will help prepare us for the competition we will see in district.”

Practices starting from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and some days even till 6 p.m., Coach Sessions wants his team to be prepared for each game. The Arabians lift and watch film after each practice to get stronger and get a good look at their opponents.

“As a senior, my role is to be a leader and encourage my team- mates to work hard everyday in practice,” Taylor said.

I believe you play how you practice, and working harder in practice has had a great impact on how aggressive we have played these past few games.”