On Thursday February 16th, the girls’ varsity basketball went against their final contender, the Newton-South Lions. The Lions were the last district championship league team the Grey Ghosts went against in the regular season, and now they will enter DCL with the best record in the district. The game started with Newton South establishing their prowess by taking the lead by over 15 points during the first half, however the Grey Ghosts turned the game around and won, 54-44.

Many people ranging from fellow students with banners to family members with cameras to journalists with notepads appeared in the bleachers, creating a sizable audience to witness the game.

Senior Captain Angela Alibrandi gained possession over the ball after the tip off. However Newton-South easily maneuvered the ball into their hold, and scored two points. The Grey Ghosts retaliated immediately by Senior Camille Desrochers scoring two points. The clash continued on both ends of the team, leading the quarter to end at a tie, 12-12.

The second quarter was where the Ghosts began to lag behind NS. Junior Elizabeth Arnold was able to take the ball down to the opponents’ hoop through a strong defense, however the Lions made an impressive steal from Arnold and began a rapid fire of three pointers. The Grey Ghosts were visibly down on their hopes as the points began to rack up from 13-18 to 13-26. The clock appeared with less than a few minutes left in the quarter but the Ghosts spontaneously gained a new vigor. Alibrandi made several layups through the final seconds for the Ghosts to catch up to Newton South.

The first half ended with the Lions still in the lead, 26-33, but with the Grey Ghosts quickly following behind.

The beginning of the third quarter started with the Ghosts breaking through South’s defense, enabling the Ghosts to make multiple two pointer attempts. New South was unable to take the ball, which lead the Ghosts to earn 31-33. Every time the ball fell into the Lion’s hoop, the Ghosts received a standing ovation from the crowd. Arnold broke the tie with another foul shot 34-33, which made WA take the lead from South.

Third quarter ended with WA in a surprising lead against Newton-South, 37 to 33.

Final quarter took off with Alibrandi raking in another two points. Desrocher made a bank shot, as well as multiple assists to players. South fell far behind WA with more layups from Alibrandi, 45-37. With two minutes to go in the final quarter, senior Taylor Pillsbury made a foul shot, increasing the score 49-38. WA brought a wave of two pointers in the final quarter, one after the other. The game ended with Alibrandi making a foul shot, ending the game with a score of 54-44.

“Honestly, I’m really proud of the team. We got down by [13] points and looked pretty ugly, but I’m really proud of the way we fought back. The girls settled down and played and I couldn’t be any happier,” Coach Russell Coward said.