Girls Fight their Way to First Victory

The Grafton Indians girls basketball team had their best performance of the season against David Prouty Jan. 17. The girls were able to come out of the battle victorious, with a final score of 54-44, in what turned out to be a back and forth game.

Grafton tied the score at six with a Michelle Xia bank shot off an offensive rebound just minutes into the game. Prouty Forward Christina Fish answered with a successful and-1 to make it 9-6. After another Prouty basket, Meg Driscoll was able to gather an offensive rebound and finish for two points.

Hustling Emily Malone then took a charge, regaining possession for Grafton. Jess Ahlman was able to take the ball of the dribble for a layup. Ahlman would also be fouled on a 3-pointer as the quarter was expiring, granting her 3 shots, all of which she made.

Grafton's defense was also strong throughout the game, as they gave multiple looks, including some 2-3 zone which forced turnovers and difficult shots. Even when it looked as if David Prouty players would have an easy opportunity, Grafton would foul and make their opponents hit free throws, which they were inconsistent with.

At the end of the first quarter Grafton had a 13-11 lead, one of their few leads on the season so far. Grafton wouldn't lead for long.

Prouty's Christina Fish started the quarter with a layup to tie the game. Hayley Chesson would hit a 3 on their next possession. Prouty was then fouled on a 3-pointer and hit 2 of the 3 free throws, to make it an 18-13 ballgame.

Emily Malone answered Prouty's strong opening with a nice corner 3 off of an inbound pass. Prouty would then score five straight points before Meg Driscoll finished off an offensive rebound once for the second time of the game. Grafton began playing a full-court press which immediately paid off for Grafton when Emily Malone got a steal and took the ball coast to coast for a finish.

Prouty would then score on a short jump shot. Soon after Meg Driscoll dished out a fantastic pass from the post to set up Jess Ahlman for another easy two. At the end of two, Grafton was down three points, with a score of 25-22. 

Grafton's passing was exponentially better in this game than they had been in any previous game, as they were able to create passing lanes by using proper spacing. The opening of the passing lanes and unselfish play of the team led to quick passes that dissected the defense for much of the game.

Jess Ahlman opened the second half with a nice jumper at the right elbow. Prouty Center Ashley Beahn answered with a scoop shot and-1 opportunity, which she converted on. She was fouled hard on the next possession when her head smashed against the court but she showed she was okay when she went 2/2 from the charity stripe. On the next Grafton possession, Beahn got her wind knocked out by a charging ballhandler and had to leave the game.

Beahn played well early before suffering a couple of hard blows which knocked her out of the game. She finished with 13 points in limited action, and her presence was obviously missed on both ends of the hardwood.

Grafton began playing full-court man press which once proved to be immediately successful resulting in a steal by Ahlman and a layup by Malone to make it 30-26. Driscoll scored again with an offensive rebound and finish. Malone played very intensely, per usual. She also showed nice passing and composure when pressured.

Taylor Snediker had two straight steals before Kendal Bergenholtz hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-point deficit. The third quarter ended 34-33 with Prouty barely leading.

Grafton took the lead immediately in the final stanza when Ahlman was able to secure an offensive rebound and finish. Michelle Xia followed up with a nice running baseline jumper. Grafton's defense came up with an important tie-up as they now held the possession arrow.

Driscoll scored on a nice inbounds play with a quick roll to the middle and easy two to make it 39-34. After a Prouty basket, Ahlman had another nice jumper. Next possession, Nikki Murphy caught a pass from the post via Meg Driscoll.

Grafton would never look back. Xia had a nice dribble move to create her own shot with about 4 minutes remaining to give Grafton a 7-point lead. To close the game, Grafton had an effective press that slowed down Prouty's offense right off the inbound pass.

The final few minutes would be riddled with fouls from both sides, eventually resulting with Driscoll fouling out. Grafton players would continue to show the composure that they had all game so that they could finish with a 54-44 lead.

Assistant Coach Johanna Morin, who was filling in as head coach, said that the girls were "super pumped, with adrenaline pumping through their veins," for their first victory of the season. When asked about the large improvement in passing and ballhandling, she stated that they had stressed the "overall feeling of protecting the ball," as well as emphasizing how to "break Prouty's 1-3-1 zone."

For a team that has played hard all season long with unimpressive results, this had to be gratifying for anyone watching the game. They have played extremely hard in every game and now have showed vast improvement in their continuity and team play.