Liberty Can't Weather The Storm, Sparx Slip Past Lynx

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

JUNIOR LEAGUE

STORM 19 LIBERTY 4
Team Storm got their first victory of the season. Christine Santos lead all scorers with 8 points, Brigh Cote chipped in with 6, Devyn Veits and Mikaela Enax both had 2 points each and Heather McLaughlin swished a foul shot for 1 point. Stephanie and Rachel Lemus were tenacious on the defensive end of the court. Olivia Axson, Sydney Crowley and Elizabeth Lewis were solid players at both ends of the court making many steals and controlling the boards.
Team Liberty started the game on fire, with Halle Carciofi and Kendra Waugh scoring 2 quick baskets. But the tenacious defense of the Storm was too much for the Liberty to handle and although they made some good attempts, the ball just wouldn’t go through the hoop again for them. The Storm took a decisive lead in the 2^nd quarter, but the Liberty did a great job of settling down and playing solid defense the rest of the game. Hailey Bedley did a great job in the 4^th quarter of defending the Storm’s toughest player. It was good to see the girls going after the ball. Rebecca DeFrancesco led the team in rebounding(4), with Caitlyn Fiore, Julia Garland, Alexis Hillis, Faith Mazzipica, Rena Ruggiero and Madi Sjostedt all contributing with rebounds, steals and creating many jump balls. Keep up the good work, Liberty!

STARZZ 28 MERCURY 4

Looking to start the season 2-0, the Shooting Starzz not only lit up the sky but the scoreboard as well. Leading the team in scoring was Marissa Ladderbush with 10 pts and 5 steals. Daisha (D-Money) Thompson scored 6 pts, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Kenzie Kennison chipped in with 4 pts and team leading 6 steals. Isabella Beyloune had 4 pts and 3 steals. Amber Buttaro finally broke the ice for her first 2 pts to go along with 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Gianna Bourassa scored her first bucket and had 3 steals and 1 rebound. Leah Veloz pulled down 1 rebound and had 2 steals. Megan Cunningham had a steal. Rachael Strangie and Ava Nickerson worked hard on both ends of the court. Hats off to the Mercury and their coach. They are a young but talented team who will give the league fits next season. 

 SPARKS 10 LYNX 6

The Sparks approached this week with the same solid game play as last week. The pressure defense, solid bounce passes, and good shot selections led the Sparks to their second win of the season. The Sparks were tied 2-2 after the first half but quickly jumped into the lead with solid team play starting the second half. The scoring was evenly spread out with Kerry Shea leading the way (with 4 points) with additional baskets from Abigail Naugler, Julia Cafferty, and Brianna Walker. Sarah Molander came very close but front rimmed a shot after getting herself open in the corner. Julia Giaimo, Alexa Harrington, and Surabhi Keesara were instrumental on defense whether by stealing the ball, stopping the penetration, or grabbing the crucial rebounds on both ends of the court. Overall, the entire team exhibited a strong defensive showing contributing to several turnovers throughout the game. Abigail Naugler led the way for the defense as she grabbed many rebounds, blocked a shot, and was involved in a couple of steals

The Lynx played hard the entire day but could not come away with the win against a strong Sparks team who capitalized on all of their opportunities. The Lynx played great defense in the game with Kendall Donahoe leading the way with 11 rebounds and 3 steals. The score was 2-2 after the 1^st with a nice bucket from Lauren McIntyre from the top of the key. However the Sparks took the lead after three quarters holding on to an 8-2 lead. The Lynx switched things up a little on offense and was able to cut the lead to 8-4 shortly into the last quarter. However the Sparks were quick to respond with a bucket of their own. Jessica Caredeo (4 points and 7 rebounds) added another bucket for the final score. Leading the team in steals were Marissa Brangiforte, Sarah Milne, and Donahoe with 3 each and Grace Morris adding 2. Eight different players snagged a steal on the day and also eight players grabbed rebounds for the Lynx including McIntyre and Molly O’Neill with 3 each.

COMETS 24 MYSTICS 8

 The Mystics played a very tough and talented Comets team and ended up with a loss. The Mystics were able to establish an early lead in the 1st quarter when Isabella DeRoche was able to hit 2 baskets to give the Mystics a 4 - 0 advantage. In the 2nd, the Comets played great defense and held the Mystics scoreless but were able to take over the lead by a 8 - 4 margin. In the 2nd half the Mystics were only able to score a total of 4 points, 2 each by Stephanie Mercurio and Shannon Farias. We will now regroup and come back in week 3 against the Sparks ready to play our best ball of the season. These girls know our plan is to build a strong team throughout the regular season and prepare for the tournament at the end.

INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE

COUGARS 26, WILDCATS 6

 The Cougars came out in week 2 in high gear once again. We have a lot of high energy girls on this team this year that just love to win. Emily Zuraski took charge of the offense and got all her teammates involved and by the end of the first quarter the Cougars had a 10 - 0 lead. In the second the Cougars were able to correct their mistakes from week 1 and played shut down defense while limiting the Wildcats offensive scoring chances. Going into halftime the score was 16 - 2. The Cougars were able to play great on defense the rest of the way and finished the game strong. We seem to have something special with this team so far but we know we have a long way to go. We will continue to work hard to improve and get ready for a huge challenge against the very talented Waves in week 3.

Wildcats were slow at the gate but throughout the game really picked up their defense and began moving the ball very well on offense. They really hustled the second half of the game but could not make up the difference. Eva Chase, Kate Scorano and Julia Kelly all put up 2 pts. Courtney Graffeo was defensive player of the game. She did a fantastic job on D and despite her size came up with many rebounds. Great effort by all.

TERRIERS 25 WOLVERINES 10

For the second week in a row it was the Terriers strong defensive effort which led the way for a team victory. The defense was led by Rachel Kelly, Mikayla Dolan, Michelle Tenaglia, and Irene Houde (Defensive player of the week) who moved to center for the first time in her career and controlled the defensive rebounds throughout the game. As the Wolverines applied pressure to the Terriers inbounds plays all day long Carla Tenaglia and Jocelyn Stavros were able to break the press and push the ball up the court quickly as fellow guards Emily Langone and Kendyl Spinelli had some fantastic passing on the offensive end where Alexis Brincklow and Jordyn Cavicchi took advantage and led the scoring efforts. The offensive scoring was supplied by Emily Langone – (10pts), Jordyn Cavicchi (8pts), Alexis Brincklow – (4pts) and Jocelyn Stavros – (3pts)

The Wolverines played a talented and high energy Terriers team this week. Wolverine guards, Nicole Cobuccio, Sarah Murray – (2 pts), Katie Garcia – (4 pts) & Sarah Larson – (2pts) all stepped up their defensive play. They all did an outstanding job going after loose balls and picking off passes. Miranda Hulme – (2pts) and Rebecca Lewis continued to play aggressively on the boards and making their presents felt on each rebound. Cassia Burns, Devyn MacEachern and Ashley Turri all hustled and did a good job keeping up with Terriers intensity. In the end, the shorthanded Wolverines couldn’t overcome the Terriers outside shooting.

EAGLES 23 WAVES 18
Eagles and Waves battled each and every quarter of this game. Two different styles of game, equally matched, but in the end a last minute game saving steal by Sarah Constantino combined
with a final in bound basket by Madison Wescott from Sammy Surowiec would put the Eagles on top. Madison Wescott was absolutely amazing on both sides of the court, scoring, stealing, passing, she did it all. Marissa Doherty and Shaylee Puleo continue to direct their respective line mates. Jessica Liggiero
had several key opportunities and fast breaks along with her line mate Alexandra Bourassa. Jacquelyn Marchant had another big game pulling down defensive rebounds, and Kayla Giaimo
made several key plays and some nice passing. Kaylee Leon and Nicole Liggiero split time and helped to stabilize the Eagles defense.

The Waves played a good game, but it was not enough to defeat the Eagles. Scoring for the Waves was Elizabeth Markwarth with 4 points, and 2 points each for Erika Whynot, Alicia Moore, Hannah Maffeo, Rhiannon DeLucia, Erin Coulter, Colleen MacNeil, and Lauren Riccardi. Also playing well for the Waves was Amy Glover, Sophia Alfano, and Emily Woods.

HUSKIES 20 JAYHAWKS 12

The Jayhawks matched up with a tough squad this week against the Huskies. It was a well fought battle up until the last quarter when the tables turned and we lost the match 20-12. Despite the tough loss, there were many good looks during the game. Our offense was led by Michaela Svendsen netting 10 points for the team and together with Emily Burns (2) both girls ripped down rebounds and played heads up defense. Victoria Horton and Emily Saunders did a good job pushing the ball up court and were able to make some great passes to get our offense moving. Meghan Graczyk made several attempts on net, but they just wouldn't drop for her. Olivia Powers once again kept close watch as center making sure nothing got past her. Chelsea Pellergrino's persistance on defense led to many stolen balls and drove to the net net each time. Tayla Spezzano and Caitlin Panessiti made some great blocked shots while on defense and Britney Bourassa was a speed demon keeping close tabs on the Huskies offense. Defensive player of game was Emily Burns.

SENIOR LEAGUE

MAGIC JAZZ

The Magic teamwork was the key to a week 2 win against a talented Jazz team. The first half was a back-and-forth evenly played game. In the second half, Heather Doyle made many great feeds to Sarah Baptista down low resulting in a game high 8 points, and giving the Magic the lead for good. It was a team effort on offense as Heather added a bucket of her own. Cassie Froio and Michelle Creedon added 4 points each, Meg Braciska 3 points, and Sarah Ward and Nicole Petherbridge with 2 points each. Michelle Creedon was the defensive player of the game.

SONICS 29 SPURS 22

 The Sonics put it all together in a tough defensive battle with the Spurs. Shannon Smith ruled the key and came up with seven points with Marissa Conlin and Katie Dunlevy scoring six points each. Toni Joy, Delaney Chisholm, and Jamie Burger were good for two points each in the paint. The Sonics D created havoc against the Spurs and was led by Mary Crowe in the first and third and Jessica Lehmann in the second and fourth. Alexis Chaet played a strong game under the boards and setting up some key offensive plays. Overall the Sonics played a well balanced game which led to their first win of the season.

BLAZERS 39 PACERS 15

The Blazers played well with good shot selection, efficient passing, and a solid fast break. Every player on the team took a shot at the basket showing excellent distribution of the ball. Leading scorers for the game were Karalyn Gallella with 16 (7 for 14 from the floor), Kirsten Dick with 6, Ariana Calouro, Emily Velozo and Caleigh Finneral each with 4, and Caitlin Carroll, Lauren Strong, and Taylor Donahoe adding 2 each. Snaring 6 and 4 steals respectively were Ariana and Velozo. Rebounds in the game came from Finneral with 7, Dick and Gallella with 5, and Donahoe and Strong with 4. Strong and Ariana also added 2 assists. Emily Duquette also notched her 1^st assist of the season and Shalimar Hulme pestered and slowed the Pacer offense all day. Makayla Calouro playing in her 1^st action in a few years was strong with excellent defense including 2 rebounds.