WA Girls’ Basketball clinched a close 47-40 victory against Chelmsford during the MIAA State Tournament round of 32 on Friday, Feb. 28 after increasing their lead significantly in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter. This win puts their season record at 17-4 and comes after WA lost by one point against Chelmsford in a previous game, marking a successful come-back against the team’s close rival.
The game was tight and fast-paced, with frequent ties and leads of only one or two points. In the first quarter, the Chelmsford Lions raised the bar high with strong defense and smooth passes, increasing their lead by 2 points in the first few minutes. However, the Ghosts were able to match their energy, finishing off the quarter with a lead of 14-10 following senior captain Faith Williams’s and junior Kaitlyn Pepin’s smooth baskets.
“I was really nervous because we lost our first game to them by one, but I think we really pulled through. We were boxing out a lot, and that’s what we needed,” Williams said. “We didn’t do that in our past game, but since we did that this game, we got a whole bunch more rebounds.”
Starting off the second quarter, the teams continued with their swift plays back and forth across the court, particularly by sophomore Alexa Coward and senior captain Diya Jayaraman, who kept the ball away from WA’s side. Smooth passes by senior captain Erin Keefe and great defense by juniors Maddie Smith and Kaitlyn Pepin also kept Chelmsford from making progress on their offense.
“I would say boxing out was one thing that we worked on that limited the amount of possessions the [other team] had on our court,” Pepin said. “We’ve all been playing for each other for a while, so it’s been great that we all have this chemistry [on the court].”
Junior Olivia Pillsbury made three baskets in a row, an impressive feat that ultimately helped put WA once again in the lead 23-21 by the end of the second quarter, despite Chelmsford’s three-pointer.
“We were definitely really stressed at the beginning, but towards the second quarter, and the third, and the fourth, we got back in it and all the jitters went away,” junior Hannah Lupien said. “It was definitely hard to stay in focus in the end and not let [Chelmsford] score but we remained composed and did a good job.”
During the third quarter, the game’s fast pace continued, with both teams struggling to score due to the great guarding on both sides. WA sustained their strong performance with a three-pointer by Smith and another two points scored by Pepin. However, Chelmsford was able to pull ahead very narrowly going into the final quarter with a score of 32-30.
The Ghosts felt the pressure mount during the fourth quarter, resulting in multiple fouls from both teams. While the Lions were able to score with one successful free throw, WA pulled ahead with another three-pointer by Smith and multiple successful free throws by Coward and Pepin in the last few minutes of the quarter, ending the game 47-40 with the Ghosts taking the win.
“We were a little shaky in the third quarter, but really, we showed some guts and some toughness and I’m really happy about that,” head coach Russell Coward said. “I was very nervous [going up against Chelmsford]. Their coach is excellent, their team is excellent, they’re really tough, they’re really smart, they never stop playing, and they’re very physical, and so it’s really nice to get a good win against a team like that.”
WA Girls’ Basketball’s next away game will be part of the round of 16 MIAA State Tournament on Tuesday, March 4 at 5:30 p.m. against Springfield Central High School.
