The George Rogers Clark High School girls basketball team didn’t shoot well Friday night against Southwestern in Lectcher Norton Gymnasium, but the Cardinals used their defense to grind out a 65-55 win.

“We missed some easy ones, especially in the first half and our lead could have been a little bigger,’ GRC coach Robbie Graham said. “We work really hard on our defense. That’s something we’re going to hang our hat on. We’re going to miss shots sometimes and we’re going to turn the ball over sometimes. But we can always defend and rebound.”

Southwestern (12-7) refused to let GRC put the game away. Each time the Cardinals (17-2)  threatened to pull out to a big lead, the Warriors would put together a run to stay in it.

With six minutes left to play, GRC had what looked like a fairly comfortable 51-41 advantage after a Jasmine Flowers layup. But the Warriors scored seven straight points  to make it a three-point game.

“They’re a young team and they’re making shots and feeling good about themselves. We knew it was going to be a battle,” Graham said. “We were looking for a tough game. We needed one. So this came at a good time for us.”

Sha’Maya Behanan led the Cards with 14 points.  Maleaha Bell and Kennedy Igo each put in 12 points apiece. Elizabeth Hardiman added eight points, while Flowers finished with six.

Kylee Murray scored five while Aliyah Gray and Hayley Harrison each scored four.