Success Of Norton Eighth Grade Girls Continues

While there is still much work to be done, the girls' basketball Division 1 travel team has seemingly not skipped a beat from a year ago.

Coming off a perfect 15-0 record and a championship in the MetroWest League's seventh grade girls' Group 1 Tournament last winter, the locals have begun this season with a perfect 4-0 mark. This group of players has now won 19 consecutive league games.

The Norton eighth-grade team has gotten off to a dominant start to the year, winning those first four games by at least 20 points. The team has scored 49 points or more in all four games, while also surrendering 29 points or less during each victory.

The first four games for Norton were all played at the Mass. Premier Courts in Foxboro. The locals opened with a 54-26 win over Division 2A Mansfield on Dec. 5. They defeated Division 1 opponent Watertown, 54-22, in week two before improving to 3-0 with a 49-29 win against Division 2A King Philip on Dec. 19.

Norton made it four straight victories to start the season with a 52-23 verdict over Division 1 foe Westwood on Sunday morning.

Following Sunday's action in the league, Norton is tied with Medway for first place in the division at 4-0.  Medway's wins this winter have come against North Attleboro, Wellesley, Easton and Bellingham.

There is a four-way tie for third place in the division as Sudbury, Millis, Newton and North Attleboro are all 3-1. Watertown and Westwood are tied for seventh with 2-2 marks, while Easton is ninth at 1-3.

With school getting back in session on Monday, it will allow for more practice time. Prior to Sunday's contest against Westwood, Norton had not had a league game in two weeks and was not able to practice much with the players being on their holiday vacation.

"I'm a practice guy," said Norton coach Tim Dermody, "and we have not had a practice in two weeks. But we will get more time now that the kids will be back in school."

And with every successful team, there are always improvements that can be made

"We are at about 70 percent of where we need to be as a team," Dermody said. "We still have a lot of work to do. We need to work on our free throws and our ball handling. We will be going back to the basics in practice. We will stress the fundamentals with the girls and talk to them about having confidence with the ball and on the court."

Norton will be back in action next week when the team travels to Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin to face the Franklin Blue Division 2A team next Sunday at 9 a.m.

The locals will then travel to Medway for a potential first-place showdown with their rivals on Sunday, Jan. 16, 10 a.m. at Medway High. Norton will return to its home courts at Mass. Premier on Sunday, January 23, hosting Needham's Division 2A squad on Court 1 at 8:20 a.m. The locals will round out the month with a trip to Easton Middle School to face Division 1 opponent Easton on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 9 a.m.