Comets, Starzz Get Defensive In Victories

(Editor's note: The following information was submitted by the coaches and administrators of the Tewksbury Girls Basketball League.)

JUNIOR LEAGUE

COMETS 15 ROCKERS 2

The Comets played the Rockers this week claiming victory 15 to 2. The Comets have become a tough defensive group making it hard for teams to score. Still Down 1 player the Comets played gritty defense not allowing the Rockers to get the ball inside on offense. Interior defense lead by Leanne Durham (3 pts), Lizzie Gallella (10 pts), Kiley Tibbetts, Rachel Conway, Bridget Burgoyne, Shannon Crowley was key in preventing many shots by the Rockers and limiting their ability to get second chances. Madison Borassa (2 pts) Megan Ostertag, and Morgan Woodman played very intense defense on top, not allowing the Rockers to get set up in their offensive end. A great team win.

STARZZ 12 SPARKS 3

The Shooting Starzz started off slow but finished strong against the Sparks. Leading the scoring was Marissa Ladderbush with 6 pts, Daisha Thompson with 2 pts, Leah Veloz had 2 pts and Isabella Beyloune scored a nice bucket driving to the hoop. Defensive pressure was a key component of the game. Rookie point guard Gianna Bourassa had some nice ball handling on display. Great defense by Ava Nickerson, Amber Buttaro, Megan Cunningham and Rachael Strangie. Offensive pressure provided by Kenzie Kennison and Marissa Ladderbush. Great Job girls.

The Sparks were looking forward to adding another win to their record this past week. The first quarter saw a quick basket by Kerry Shea with an assist from Brianna Walker. It was a well executed give and go play that resulted in a easy layup. The second quarter was a bit challenging for the Sparks as Alison Pellegrino and Alexa Harrington came out of the game due to minor injuries. Alexa came back in the game in the 4th quarter but Alison was sidelined for the remainder. Both were great teammates cheering on the team. At the start of the half, the Sparks tried to get a run started again. The defense has continued to remain strong for the team. Several steals, crucial rebounds, and blocks were seen. Julia Cafferty led the way on the defensive end with help from Abigail Naugler (block) and Surabhi Keesara (rebounds). The third quarter also saw attempted shots by Sarah Molander and Julia Giaimo. The entire team had several chances to trim the Starzz' lead but did not see the baskets drop. Brianna Walker added the final point in the 4th quarter by scoring on a free throw.The Sparks rallied as a team and showed great sportsmanship at the end of the game.

MYSTICS 16, MERCURY 4

The Mighty Mystics started this game just how they left off the week before, in high gear. As a team, the Mystics are playing very disciplined defense now and the girls are understanding their assignments much better as they showed this week once again. In the first qtr Belle DeRoche got the scoring going for us and used her strength and banked in a great shot. In the second, Stephanie Mercurio made a great steal and took the ball in for a quick layup. She then showed great skill by making a nice fake to the hoop and pulled up for the 10 foot jumper, nothing but net! Emma Demos scored her first basket of the season and is just getting going for us. She is turning into a beast under the basket grabbing rebounds and now scoring points too. At half time the Mystics led 8-0. The 3rd qtr was quiet until the last 1 1/2 minutes when the Mercury made two quick baskets to close the gap and the qtr ended with the Mystics holding a slim 8-4 advantage. In the 4th, the veterans really took control and exploded for 8 pts. Rebecca Smith, Christa Davis, Shannon Farias and Belle DeRoche each with 2 points. The defense was just amazing and finished the game the way they started. Now we turn the page and look to next week and realize we have a very tough game ahead against the Lynx. We will practice hard this week and we will be ready for them!!

Great effort by both teams. For the Mercury, great hustle by Amber Kelly and Jane Kirby, while Olivia Delonais and Angelina Carew played a great all around game on both ends of the court. Scoring for the Mercury were Bianca Bongiorno and Emily Puccia. Madelyn Berry was named Defensive Player of the Game.

STORM 12 MONARCHS 7
Team Storm was down the whole game until a late fourth quarter comeback propelled them to victory, Olivia Axson continued her scoring barrage with 4 points, Brigh Cote and Heather McLaughlin added a hoop each late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Christine Santos had four points and made several nice passes. Sydney Crowley ,Stephanie Lemus, Elizabeth Lewis and Rachel Lemus played a suffocating defense rebounding and stealing the ball to complete the comeback.

LYNX 10 VS. LIBERTY 4

The Lynx overcame a great effort by the Liberty to pull out a victory on Saturday. The Liberty came to play scoring an early first basket. Then after the Lynx pulled back to even with a basket in the 1^st by Jessica Caredeo (6 points) the Liberty again took the lead going into halftime. The man-to-man defense was slowing the offensive attack of the Lynx. However at half the team was able to regroup and came out with lots of energy to score 8 points in the 3^rd to take a 10-4 lead into the 4^th. Defense was the theme the rest of the way by both teams as this turned out to be the final score. Also scoring for the Lynx was Grace Morris and Janine Richardson with 2 points each. Janine scored her 1^st points of the season and was well-deserved after a lot of good shots by her on the season. Defensive player of the game was Marissa Brangiforte with 7 steals, 2 rebounds and a block. Morris also contributed on defense with 7 rebounds and 5 steals. The whole team is getting better at finding open space and the offense is getting better each week.

The Liberty started out strong, with Alexis Hillis (2 pts) scoring an early basket, and Halle Carciofi sinking a basket in the second quarter, while the continued aggressive Liberty defense , held the Lynx to 4 points in the 1^st half. The Lynx were able to take advantage of a some defensive lapses in the 3^rd quarter, however, to take the lead and despite being held scoreless in the 4^th quarter, the Lynx defeated the Liberty , who couldn’t get the ball to drop in the second half, despite some good attempts. Julia Garland , Madi Sjostedt and Hailey Bedley led the Liberty in rebounding, while Halle Carciofi, Kendra Waugh and Rebecca DeFrancesco continued to play tenacious defense. Caitlyn Fiore, Faith Mazzipica and Rena Ruggiero hustled on both ends the court, doing a good job of handling the ball and creating turnovers. Although the Liberty are struggling offensively, they continue to improve each week.

INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE

TERRIERS 23 COUGARS 19

The Cougars played the undefeated Terriers on Saturday and came up a bit short in the end. We saw a lot of good things like high energy throughout our lineup, solid rebounding and good ball movement but in the end it just wasn't enough. Emily Zuraski led the way in the 1st qtr by driving to the basket and drawing lots of fouls. As a result, the Terriers had 7 fouls in the first quarter alone. The Cougars kept pressing hard and held a slight lead at half time with a score of 9-8. In the 3rd qtr Felicia Ragucci had the same appetite for taking it to the basket and made an incredible shot while getting fouled once again. In the end the Cougars came up a bit short but we will be stronger for this loss. We will work harder and be more determined to improve and we look forward to our rematch with the Terriers in week 10 to set the record straight!!

EAGLES 32 JAYHAWKS 14

The Eagles offense was hard to slow down this week. Madison Wescott had no trouble finding her groove after being on crutches this week. She topped all scorers with 16 points. Marissa Doherty picked up the scoring in the second half finishing with 10 pts. Also adding to the scoring were Sarah Constantino with 4 pts and Alexandra Bourassa with 2. The Eagles defense was solid with Kayla Giaimo, Jacquelyn Marchant, Samantha Surowiec and Kaylee Leon limiting the number of shot opportunities the Jayhawks had. Samantha Surowiec and Alexandra Bourassa came up with a couple of steals. Jacquelyn Marchant was tough in the middle grabbing some key rebounds.

Today was another tough loss for the Jayhawks, but the score certainly didn't reflect the whole team's efforts! Right out of the gate, our defense was solid as the girls all pulled together trying to stop the monster offense of the Eagles. Point Guards Victoria Horton and Britney Bourassa did a fantastic job getting the ball past a solid offense and pressed on defense to keep the Eagles on their toes. Guards Meghan Graszak and Tayla Spezzano played a heads up game trying to stop anything that came their way and both had some great attempts on net. Emily Burns, Caitlin Panessiti and Michaela Svendsen all stepped up to the plate as they were a defensive wall under the net and all had many steals and shots on net that just wouldn't drop. Olivia Powers proved once again that the quiet ones are not to be taken lightly! She made some great rebounds and hustled after every loose ball that came her way. Defensive player goes to Haley Marchant as she too had a great defensive game and during the last quarter, fractured her ankle while ripping down a key rebound for the team! Marchant also led our offense with five points, along with Michaela Svendsen with five. Emily Burns(2), Tayla Spezzano(1) and Olivia Powers(1).

 WAVES 24 WILDCATS 12

The Waves played a great game to pick up their first win of the season. The girls played great defense, which resulted in fast break opportunities. Leading the scoring was Erika Whynot with 12 points. Also scoring was Elizabeth Markwarth with 6 points, Hannah Maffeo with 4 points, and Rhiannon DeLucia with 2 points. Amy Glover played her usual aggressive defense. Erin Coulter and Lauren Riccardi helped with the rebounding. Colleen MacNeil had the point guard responsibilities for the first time ever and took good care of the ball.

 HUSKIES 21 WOLVERINES 18

 The Huskies and the Wolverines played a hard fought game. The Huskies had a balanced scoring attack. The scorers for the Huskies were Sarah Sullivan, Lisa DeVito, Lily Wyatt, Andrea DeFina,Stefanie Cunningham, Emily Amaral and Victoria Mirabito. Defensively the Huskies were led by Madison Bugley, Kayla Marshall, Nicole Lucia and defensive player of the game,Andrea DeFina . All around it was a great game and all the girls contributed to the tough win.

SENIOR LEAGUE

PACERS 33 SONICS 32

It took overtime to decide a terrific game between the Pacers and the Sonics. A clutch free throw by Erin Davis sealed the victory for the Pacers. The offense was led by Carlye Slavin (14 points) and Lindsey Cossar poured in 8 points. Great defense was played by Colleen Kelly, Nicole Malfa and Andrea Dunn. Melissa Markwarth was named defensive player of the game.

The Sonics staged a great comeback but the Pacers were not to be denied in overtime. Shannon Smith put up 9 points and Katie Dunlevy was right behind her with 8 points both of them ruling under the boards. Marissa Conlin had a great game on D, setting up plays and grabbing 6 points. Delaney Chisholm sunk a basket and hit a foul shot adding 3 points to the total. Alexis Chaet, Jamie Burger, and Meagan Timmins rounded out the scoring with each scoring 2 points. Stephanie McHatton put up some great shots but they just didn't drop. The Sonics D did a great job as usual. It was led Defensive Players of the game Mary Crowe in the first and third and Jessica Lehmann in the second and fourth.

Stephanie McHatton played a strong game under the boards and moving the ball around on offensive plays. Overall the Sonics played a strong game but the clock in the end was in the Pacers favor.

 BLAZERS 41 VS. JAZZ 36

The Blazers withstood what turned out to be a fierce battle with the Jazz to take a narrow 5 point victory. The Blazers started out strong in the 1^st with an excellent fast break coupled with shutdown defense. Kirsten Dick, Emily Velozo, and Karalyn Gallella executed the break efficiently and also ran a decent half-court set to take a 14-0 lead. In the 2^nd the strong play of the Jazz center allowed them to close the gap to 20-19 at halftime. In the 3^rd the Blazers were on fire again scoring 18 points to take another 14 point lead at 38-24 into the 4th. However the Jazz were not finished yet and slowly closed the gap to 5 points with about 2 minutes to play. However a late bucket by Ariana Calouro helped sustain the Blazer lead and hold off the hard charging Jazz. Defensive players of the game were Ariana and Shalimar Hulme (7 rebounds and 3 blocks) who battled hard all day to slow the talented Jazz center. Scoring for the Blazers was Gallella with 12, Velozo with 10, Ariana with 7, Dick with 6, Caitlin Carroll with 4, and Hulme with 2. Leading rebounders were Hulme with 7, Gallella, Carroll, and Lauren Strong with 6 each. 9 of the 20 baskets scored for the Blazers had assists which exhibits their great teamwork and unselfish play.

SPURS 17 MAGIC 15
The Magic played hard with a lot of hustle against a talented Spurs team, but came up a bucket short. Sarah Ward and Michelle Creedon were the leading scorers for the Magic with 4 pts a piece. Meg Braciska was right behind with 3 points and too many rebounds to count. Sarah Baptista and Cassie Froio finished out the scoring with 2 pts each. Heather Doyle used her great speed and was all over the court shutting down break aways. Sam Powers played well on both sides of the ball. Ashley Figucia played great defense and was the defensive player of the game.