On Feb. 9, the Wheat Ridge Farmers girls basketball team went up against Valor Christian Eagles.

Before the game, captain Layla Two-Elk said, “I’m excited to play them for the last time for my senior year. As team captain I remind my teammates about games on and off the court, and I give them a lot of encouragement since most of them are so young.”

In the game against Valor, the Farmers pushed hard, putting all their effort forward. In the first quarter of the game Wheat Ridge went down 7-3. Sophomore Ari Bezjak showed good defense while her teammate junior Marissa Chatman helped score a three pointer, bringing the score to 15-13, Farmers still down. Junior Waniyetu Irving injured her leg, but the girls pushed through and managed to gain four more points to finish first quarter with 22-17 with Eagles ahead.

The second quarter started rough because the Farmers were not controlling the ball very well. The game started to become tense, and the girls began to play harder and got the score up to 35-25, but they were still trailing. The girls were down but were trying their hardest. Sophomore Izzie Quezada scored two points and they finished the second quarter at 42 – 27 Valor.

By the time the third quarter began, the girls became extremely aggressive as they moved closer with a score of 44-31. However, the Farmers began to slow down, and Eagles’ offense began performing immensely well. With 59 seconds left on the clock, the Farmers started to get aggressive again while Valor’s offense began to lose momentum to maintain the ball.

The fourth quarter started, and the Farmers began to become angry as Valor brought the score up to 60-34. Farmers started to show good defense again and became quicker with passing and having control of the ball. Valor stole the ball and began to score. As the game came to an end the Farmers lost 78-43. Both teams huddled together to share a group prayer and showed their support, team effort, and strong spirit.