Westford Academy Sweeps Acton-Boxborough in Basketball Doubleheader

It’s hard to say whether it could make up for the Thanksgiving Day football loss, or even the loss last week in Lowell, but once thing’s for certain: basketball took two strong wins in a girls’/boys’ basketball doubleheader against archrival Acton-Boxborough at home on Friday night.

The evening began with the girls’ contest, where a fairly close game was decided by a 15-5 surge by the Grey Ghosts in the second quarter, leaving the visitors in a six point deficit that would be the final margin of victory for Westford, due in large part to a last minute score by Samantha Hyslip that sealed the victory once and for all.

“Westford did a good job, we came out strong, but we ran into a scoring drought and we let it affect our defensive intensity,” said Acton-Boxborough girls’ coach Kim Landry on the 43-37 outcome. “The difference was in that second quarter. I don’t think it was as bad later on, the second quarter is really what made the game.”

The win marked a contrast compared to last year’s results, where the Colonials were dominant over Westford, and for that matter, most of the state. Acton-Boxborough’s Elizabeth Belanger led all scorers with 17 points, but Westford Academy girls’ coach Russ Coward believes that the Colonials captain would have pushed the visitors over the top on most other nights.

“Let’s be perfectly honest, it’s a nice win, but when Belanger isn’t 100 percent healthy, we can’t claim we’re any better than they are,” said Coward. “When we play them again in Acton, it’s going to be even harder.”

Hyslip led the way for Westford along with Hannah Hackley, both recording 11 points on the night.

Later in the evening, things were not nearly as close between the two boys’ sides, with Westford trouncing Acton-Boxborough by a 68-60 score that did not accurately indicate how one-sided the contest was, particularly early on.

The Ghosts took a 36-14 lead into the half, a lead that would hold even though it was reduced by scoring spurts later on.

“In the first half we were standing around a lot on offense, but on the first half they couldn’t miss,” said Acton-Boxborough boys’ coach Rick Kilpatrick. “It’s one of those things in basketball where you can climb back up the hill, but you get so tired that you slide back down.”

For Westford, it was a critical victory not just because of the rivalry, but due to the three way dogfight in the Dual County League Large division between the two squads and Boston Latin for the regular season league title.

The fact that this was more than just an average game helped raise the Ghosts’ energy level up a notch in the opinion of Westford head coach Ed Scollan.

“Whether it’s here or Acton, the type of energy, I think the kids feed off that. It wasn’t a 5:30 Tuesday game against anybody,” said Scollan. “This was the show; this is how high school sports are supposed to be.”

Acton-Boxborough’s Kevin LaFrancis led all scorers in the boys’ game with 26, with Alex Preckol leading the Ghosts with 19.