Indians Salute Seniors, Defeat Patriots

Family, friends and fans alike filled the Grafton High School gymnasium to watch and honor the seniors of the Grafton girls’ basketball team and cheerleading squad on their Senior Night game against Burncoat High School.

The ceremony begun with recognizing three senior cheerleaders: Julie Cupido, Courtney Szkutak and Samantha Gilchrist. Then Grafton High School girls’ head basketball coach Britt Bishop took the microphone and addressed Burncoat senior captains Sarah Waskevich and Jesenia McBride thanking them for their commitment to their own program. After that, she then turned her attention to the seniors she has coached for the past three years.

Bishop spoke kind words about each of the four seniors: Michelle Xia, Emily Malone, Jess Ahlman and Taylor Snediker, thanking each one of them for their hard work and dedication to the program over the last four years. Each senior was given a bouquet of flowers and a gift before their families joined them at center court for a photo opportunity.

“The seniors honestly mean everything to this team,” said Bishop. “I’m going to sound cliché when I say this, but I told the girls, 'We are going to play for the seniors tonight,’ and it’s the hardest I’ve ever seen these girls play. They’re great seniors and huge leaders for this team.”

Xia has been a dominant scorer all year round for the team and has spent three years under Bishop. Malone has given the Indians an experienced guard and a strong ball handler, while Ahlman has shown great drive and determination by battling back from a hand injury to play again this season. Lastly, Snediker has shown solid leadership throughout her Grafton career, being elected captain at both the JV and varsity level.

“It’s been amazing playing together with these girls,” said Xia. “We’ve been playing together since recreation league in 5^th or 6^th grade and a lot of players from our class have stopped playing over the years, but we’ve stuck together.”

The seniors have contributed in many ways to the Indians’ team over the years, but the one thing that will be greatly missed is the way they played the game. “Most of all their intensity and passion for the game,” said Bishop. “All four of them bring defensive intensity to the game and they work off one another well as a team.”

Though things have been tough this season for the Indians, winning only four out of 19 games, the seniors have been able to enjoy their time on the court together. “Despite our losses, we kept our heads held high and just enjoyed playing,” said Xia. “Coach Bishop has been amazing and has really taught us how to love the game of basketball.”

The seniors showed their love for the game of basketball last night, getting the majority of the playing time and taking full advantage of it against the Patriots, winning 66-42. Though the seniors combined for only 23 points out of the final 66, they did everything right, from playing solid defense to working the ball into the post and coming up with timely steals.

Malone scored a senior-high eight points and did a great job distributing the basketball, while fellow senior Ahlman scored seven points. Snediker had four points and helped the team out in the assist category, while Xia added four as well and helped keep plays alive by hustling to grab rebounds.

Although tonight was Senior Night, the game on the floor belonged to junior Meg Driscoll, who dropped 26 points and grabbed 18 boards to propel the Indians to their fourth win of the season.

“Everyone contributed tonight, even players that don’t normally contribute,” said Bishop. “We’ve been waiting for Meg to break out. She was being very aggressive and playing with a lot of confidence; this was her first game with 20-plus points.”

Though the Indians have one more game left on their schedule against Northbridge on Thursday, the seniors’ effort tonight pays tribute to what they have accomplished as well as the teammates they have become during their reign as Grafton High School varsity basketball players.