The girls basketball team hosted Billerica Memorial on Thursday, January 27. After a hard fought game full of excitement, Westford Academy came out on top 52-41. 

The game started off strong with junior Alanna Saunders (#12) winning the tip-off. The next major play for WA was made by senior captain Carly Davey (#20), who scored two points off of a free throw. Saunders, who took many free throws during the night, made multiple points for WA with her shots. Davey shot a three with about four minutes left in the first quarter. Both teams put forth their best effort this quarter, but Westford came out with an 18-10 lead.

Davey proved to be a powerhouse on the court this game, scoring the first four points of the second quarter. By WA’s first timeout, Westford was up by sixteen points (27-11). However, Billerica scored five points during this quarter, between regular baskets and free throws. After some impressive free throws, Westford went into halftime with a seventeen point lead. The score was 32-15.

“The first few quarters we played very well; played great defense. Our offense is really solid,” Coach Russell Coward said.

Saunders and junior Ali Mammola (#14) strongly helped the team in the third quarter, scoring a cumulative of six points. Davey and senior Kate Barnes (#32) also contributed greatly in the third quarter. Junior Aria Chambers (#21) scored Westford’s last point of the third quarter, making the score 47-21.

Going into the last quarter with a twenty-six point lead, Coward made the executive decision to give playing time to those who don’t usually get it.

“We need to give the younger players sometime; they’ve never played varsity,” Coward said. “They need game experience against a good top team like this. […] I don’t really care that our lead went from [26] to 12. All I care about is giving them some time so they can get an understanding of how they [have] to play [at the varsity level].”

At the end, Coward truly felt good about the outcome of the game.

“I think they played well […]. I think we just jumped out in pretty early and it was nice. We had a nice solid win,” Coward said.

Their next game will be senior night at WA on Friday, January 28th.