Mepham Girls Basketball Falls to Baldwin, 55-50

Despite several strong performances by key players and occasionally outstanding defense and free throw shooting, the host Mepham Lady Pirates lost a closely contested Conference AA-I game to the Baldwin Bruins, 55-50 last night.

Aware of the explosive scoring and playmaking ability of Mepham point guard Alex Leung, reigning Conference AA-II player of the year, Baldwin opened play with a box-and-one defense and jumped to a 12-6 lead. However, the Lady Pirates' 2-3 zone defense soon confounded the Bruins and Leung was able to penetrate to the basket and pass the ball out of double teams to find teammates for perimeter jump shots. Baldwin was able to draw five first quarter fouls on dribble drives, but failed to capitalize on free throw opportunities, and the Lady Pirates  closed the quarter on a 6-2 run to narrow the deficit to two on the strength of a pair of Leung jump shots and a layup by Nicole Castaldo.

Mepham took its first lead early in the second quarter on layups by Lauren Johnson and Leung, but Baldwin responded with a 10-2 spurt, due in part to an aggressive trapping defense. However, the Lady Pirates' defense ignited a tremendous run to end the half and even the score.

With Baldwin ahead by four, a block by Johnson and steals by Kristen O'Brien and Leung highlighted six consecutive thwarted Baldwin possessions during the final two and a half minutes of the quarter. In the waning seconds of the half, Leung was fouled while driving to the basket. She converted the first free throw but missed the second. The ball caromed off the rim and was deflected to Mary Galgano, who drilled a jumper just inside the three point arc to tie the score at 26 at intermission.

The Bruins opened the third quarter with stifling defense and held the Lady Pirates scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half, but were only able to open up a four point lead. Johnson knocked down a three point field goal to ignite the Lady Pirates and strong interior defense combined with four more points from Johnson and three from O'Brien gave Mepham a 38-34 lead heading into the fourth.

Baldwin opened the pivotal quarter with a three-pointer and stole an inbound pass, which led to a layup and a 39-38 advantage. The Bruins extended the lead to three and the teams exchanged scores for several minutes, with Baldwin holding a one-possession lead throughout the remainder of the period.

Johnson's accurate shooting kept the Lady Pirates (1-3, 4-4) within reach and they were able to thwart one Bruins scoring opportunity despite four offensive rebounds during the possession. Leung scored four points in the final 31.8 seconds, but Baldwin's Alex Hampton hit four crucial free throws to secure the victory for the Bruins (3-0, 7-1), whose strong rebounding helped them remain undefeated in conference play.

Baldwin 14 12 8 21 – 55
Mepham 12 14 12 12 - 50

Baldwin: Alex Hampton 14, Shayna Gatling 14, Katie Greene 11, Courtney Jackson 9, Kaitlyn Russell 8
Mepham: Alex Leung 16, Lauren Johnson 14, Kristen O'Brien 12, Mary Galgano 6, Nicole Castaldo 2