The Terra Ceia women’s basketball team put on a show for the home crowd on Friday night, defeating rival Pungo Christian on senior night, 48-27.

“That was a great win for homecoming and for the senior,” said Head Coach Daren Hubers. “We really talked the girls up yesterday and got them excited about this game. They came out, played hard and really finished the deal.”

Spearheaded by junior guard Taylor Newman, the Knights defense worked like clockwork, trapping the Raiders’ offense into corners and forcing bad passes. Newman pulled down tough rebounds, picked defenders pockets and was seemingly everywhere on the floor.

“Taylor is invaluable to us with her ball handling,” Hubers said. “She doesn’t always score, but she always plays defense and handles the ball very well.”

The lone senior, center Kendra Van Staalduinen, had one of her best nights in the paint all season with 12 points. With a clear height advantage, she took control of the rebounding game against Pungo Christian’s intimidating paint presence, sophomore Taylor Mann, who, despite shooting a poor percentage from the field, finished with a game-high 16 points.

“I was most impressed with my senior tonight,” said Hubers. “She really played inspired. She was on a mission tonight to go out in good style.”

The Knights maintained the pressure for all 32 minutes of play without ever letting up. Every Raiders possession was contested.

“I just hope we can keep on building on this win tonight,” Hubers said. “We have a lot of players coming back next year. This season was a little disappointing, a couple of games could have gone either way, but all and all it’s a good way to end it.”