By Madie Blais
Staff Writer
WA Girls’ Basketball took a tough loss to Billerica, losing by 14 points by a final score of 47-33.
Right out of the gate, the game was very aggressive and intense. Although the team lost, the coach, Russ Coward was very pleased with the performance the team gave, in the first half especially.
Billerica started the game with a 2 point lead only to have Westford sneak ahead seconds later. This began the constant transition of the ball from team to team for the rest of the quarter. This very aggressive first quarter resulted in a close score of 6-11 with Billerica having a slight lead.
The second quarter started off with Emily Bramanti on the Westford team scoring a 3 pointer within the first 2 minutes, which brought the game to a tie, 14-14. Westford called a timeout halfway through the quarter. The timeout seemed to give the team a boost in their energy as the game of back and forth became even more intense. WAGB managed to pull ahead and stay in the lead for a while before Billerica pulled ahead with 30 seconds left on the clock, by making both free throws after a foul on Westford. The score at the end of the half was 20-24.
The third quarter began with Billerica pulling ahead of Westford even more making a gap of 7 points between their scores. Westford called two timeouts, struggling to put up any points. The first two points of the quarter by Westford were made by Karly Bigham making both of her free throws, making the score 22-39.
The fourth quarter started with even more energy and aggression than all the others. The game was so even that no one managed to put up any points in the first few minutes. The next few points were put up by Westford, both off free throws. Julia Libby came in with an excellent 3 pointer and Taylor Pillsbury forcefully went for a great shot which earned her team a free throw. Westford was still down with 1 minute left 30-47. Two more points were made by Julia Libby off a free throw and one by her sister Jess Libby to end the game with a score of 33-47.
Although WAGB has a record of 1-5 right now, they have been playing incredibly well. “I’m not really concerned about our record” said Russ Coward, “We scheduled very difficult teams on purpose and I think that we’re going to be much better for it in the long run. I still think we have a good chance of making the tournament this year, so I’m not discouraged.” Coward was very pleased with the improvement shown by the team and hopes to keep improving, as that seems to be a main goal of his.
