Wildcats Lock in Third Straight Win, One Away from Tournament Berth

The girls basketball team is rolling with a three-game winning streak after a 66-48 victory over Ipswich Tuesday night at home, a win that brings them that much closer to a MIAA State Tournament berth.

The Wildcats need 10 wins to qualify for states, and the win leaves them with a 9-6 record, one away from securing their spot in the prestigious battle for a state title.  

"It’s a great win for us," said Wilmington coach Jay Keane. "We are trying to make our way to the tournament, and we need 10 wins for that. Ipswich is very good. They are leading the Middle Division, and I think this is only their third loss."

Wilmington had a very strong first half. They caught the Tigers off guard, and managed to go up by 23 points at the half. 

Ipswich wasn't willing to roll over that easily, however, and came out of half-time looking like a completely different team.

The Tigers chipped away at the lead throughout the third quarter, going on a 10-0 scoring spree. With the spark of energy, Ipswich cut the gap to 11 points towards the beginning of the final quarter. 

"We knew they were going to make a run. They are a really good team and they score in spurts, and they certainty did that," said Keane. "Rather than allow them to get under the 11 points, we dug in and the defense picked up. We got some fast break opportunities, and the key was rebounding. We did that really well tonight."

That would be as close as the Tigers would come to taking the lead, however, as a Wilmington basket and a three-pointer by Wilmington's Emily Crannell halted Ipswich's furious comeback. 

The Wildcats regained control from there, going on to win the contest by 18 points, 66-48.

"We played really well as a team, we never gave up," said Wilmington forward Alex Derian. "The other team did well, but our defense was really good. We work really hard at practice and defense is one of our key things to do."

Maggie Brown led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points, followed by Crannell with 14 of her own. Meaghan Stinson also had a strong performance with 11 points, as well as Jennifer Stewart with 10. 

The Wildcats will have little time to recover - they take on North Reading tonight on the road at 7 p.m. looking for that key tenth win of the season.

"We play again tomorrow, so we don't have a lot of time to enjoy this but we certainty will enjoy it for tonight," said Keane.