WA Girls’ Basketball lost to Billerica 49-27 at home on Friday, Dec. 22. With the loss, WA fell to 0-3 on the season.
Right off the opening tip off, Billerica got off to an early start as they converted on their first three possessions of the game, jumping out to a 7-0 lead and forcing Head Coach Russell Coward to call a quick timeout.
After a slow offensive start, sophomore Hannah Lupien got WA on the board with a three from the right wing 3 minutes into the game, cutting Billerica’s lead to 7-3.
Billerica’s hot start continued as they took an 11-3 lead midway through the opening frame. An and-1 by Billerica then opened their lead up to 14-3.
Billerica forced WA into many turnovers throughout much of the first quarter and capitalized by getting to the free throw line, allowing them to expand on their lead.
With 1 minute left in the first, junior Diya Jayaraman hit a three to cut Billerica’s lead to 18-6, stopping the early bleeding for WA. With this three, WA trailed Billerica 18-6 at the end of the first quarter.
To start off the second, Lupien nailed her second three of the game to cut Billerica’s lead to 9, giving WA some life in front of the home crowd. Senior Molly Harding added to the energy of the Scollan Court by taking a charge on the next possession. WA rode this wave of energy and cut the score to 18-11 midway through the second quarter.
After trading scoreless possessions for much of the quarter, junior Faith Williams found sophomore Kaitlyn Pepin on a beautiful pass for an and-1 layup, making the score 21-13. From there, over the next 3 minutes, only one more point was scored on behalf of a free throw by Billerica.
Due to the stagnant offense, Coward called a timeout for WA with 1:10 remaining, and right out of the timeout, Williams converted an acrobatic reverse layup, making it 22-15. The two teams traded defensive stops for the remainder of the first half, and WA entered the locker room trailing Billerica 22-15.
Out of the break, both teams traded early buckets, with senior Abby Baker finishing a strong layup on a fast break for WA. Two possessions later, Baker cut Billerica’s lead to 26-20 on a three pointer from the corner.
Energy built up in the gym as the third quarter progressed, but WA failed to take advantage of their run. Billerica outscored the Ghosts 12-1 the rest of the third, with 7 of their twelve points coming from the charity stripe. As the buzzer sounded at the end of the frame, Billerica held a commanding 38-21 advantage.
The fourth quarter had a similar storyline as the third, as Billerica continued to force WA into turnovers. Billerica was able to consistently score off of these turnovers, and the Ghosts were unable to bounce back from their 17-point third quarter deficit.
Sophomore Brooke Nielson provided WA with some offense down the stretch, as she made two free throws as well as a layup down the stretch. However, it proved to be too little too late for the Ghosts, as they eventually fell to Billerica 49-27.
Despite the loss, Pepin has her eyes set on the team bouncing back together.
“We have played some difficult teams this early in the season, and it’s been amazing to see how the team improves and changes after each practice and game,” Pepin said. “I am positive that we can bounce back and continue to work as a team and improve.”
WA looks to get in the winning column in their next game on the road at Andover on Wednesday, December 27.
