A youthful squad against a full-court press proved to be a disastrous combination for the Weston High girls' basketball team as the Wildcats were flattened 63-30 by Acton-Boxborough Tuesday night.
“The effort is always there with these girls,” said Weston coach Mark Madden. “It’s a matter of us executing, especially against the press. That’s where we are kind of struggling right now is against people’s presses. We need to keep our eyes up a little bit more.”
He added, “We are a young team with one senior, four juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen. So we are playing a lot of underclassmen who are playing their first varsity experience. You can see them progressing as the season goes on. Now, we’re just waiting for it to all click.
With the loss, the Wildcats drop to 2-8 on the season. The Colonials, meanwhile, improved to 6-4.
“I thought our kids defended well in the full-court [press],” said A-B coach Kim Landry. “We were aggressive offensively. That was nice to see. I was proud of my girls.”
The contest was not much of one from the start with the Colonials effectively employing the full-court press, stifling the Wildcats’ offense and forcing turnovers. And after senior Elizabeth Belanger (15 points) faked out her defender and drove the baseline for a lay-up, A-B led 10-2.
The Wildcats managed only two points in the first quarter, and continued to struggle offensively going into halftime down 33-12. The lone bright spot was junior Saliah Serrette, who scored eight in the first half and finished with 15 points.
“She’s a phenomenal basketball player,” said Madden. “She plays year round, which is our goal for the rest of the girls, to get them to that type of intensity level. Her effort level is always there.”
A-B kept draining the baskets in the second half, and after Sarah Smith (14 points) hit a three-pointer to make it 51-15, Landry began pulling her starters.