Danvers Girls Hoops Doesn't Have 'A' Game, But Gets 'W' Against Winthrop

In the end it wasn’t beautiful, but it was a win. The Lady Falcons hosted the Vikings of Winthrop in a hard fought defense-minded contest Friday night.

Paced by Kellie McDonald’s 15 points (13 in first half), and Sara Palazola’s 10 second-half points, Danvers captured its 13^th victory before a modest crowd.

Both teams opened with a three-quarter court press, and dug in on defense. The more experienced Danvers team (Winthrop played three eighth-graders), had little trouble moving the ball through the Winthrop press.

Despite not shooting very well, Danvers worked the ball and waited for good shots. Their patients paid off. With just more than four minutes left in the first quarter, the Falcons had opened up a 17-8 lead.  

A combination of some sloppy play by the Falcons’, mixed with Winthrop’s hustle and refusal to go away quietly, allowed the Vikings to remain within striking distance at the half, 23-14.

Things didn’t get any prettier in the second half. Danvers missed a lot of easy shots and had several turnovers. Winthrop’s inability to penetrate the Falcons' defense forced them to rely too much on three-point shots, which were clearly out of the range of vast majority of their players.

With three minutes to play in the third, Winthrop began to make some inroads into the Falcons' defense. Driving to the basket, Winthrop was able to make three straight hoops to close within seven points -- 27-20.

Fortunately, for Danvers, each time the visitors made a move, the Falcons' experience was able to get the better of the young Winthrop squad. At the end of three quarter, Danvers had increased their lead to 30-20.

In the end, it was the defense that Coach Pat Veilleux has preached all year that sowed up the 41-31 victory for Danvers. When it looked like Winthrop might have had one more run in them, the Falcons came up with a couple of crucial stops just when they needed them.

The result: while it was not that pleasant to watch, it was the type of game that good teams win.  The Falcons played well enough to win and increase their record  to 13-4.