Magicians girls grind out tough win over English

LYNN — Marblehead freshman Colby Shea overcame an injured back to score a game-high 16 points and lead the Magicians to victory, 52-43, on the road at Lynn English.”English gave us fits,” said Marblehead coach Wayne Hanscom. “We hit some shots and forced some turnovers, but I give that team a lot of credit.”The matchup between Marblehead and English was a contrast in styles. English (1-9), powered by 5-foot-2-inch point guard Waleska Muriel, operates a fast-paced offense looking to run. The Magicians feature more balance on the offensive end, and received just that in the victory from Lyndsay Walker (11 points, six rebounds), Mia Bongiorno (10 points, five rebounds), and Ashley Stiles (six points, four assists).Marblehead (6-3) struggled to keep pace with English early on. Muriel (13 points, three assists, five steals) gave the Magicians a glimpse at her skillset, scoring off turnovers, driving and dishing, and even posting up for a bucket. The Bulldogs led, 13-9, in the waning seconds of the opening quarter until Shea drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer.
The 14-year-old Shea, who was in visible pain by the end of the game, quarterbacked the Marblehead offense and refused to allow English to dictate the game’s tempo.”My back was hurting and I couldn’t run that fast,” said Shea. “English is really fast, so we slowed it down and stayed really steady.”
Shea’s three-pointer put the Magicians behind by a point (13-12) after the first eight minutes, and that marked the final time English held the lead. Marblehead claimed control of the game with a 14-2 run in the second quarter, taking a 29-21 lead into the half.”Turnovers and free throws really hurt us,” said English coach Rachael Bradley. “But this was the best game we’ve put together so far this year. We played great defense, and there was a sense of urgency from the whole team.”English fought back and cut the lead to six (35-29) after the third quarter, and even made a spirited run to cut the deficit to two points at 38-36 with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter.”We’re playing better as a team,” said Muriel. “Our defense has got way better and we never give up.”English also received contributions from Dorothy Ezemba (eight points, six rebounds, three steals) and Sam Holey (seven points, two steals), but the Bulldogs could not take care of the ball in the final quarter.
Shea hit a pair of free throws, then picked off an errant English pass and streaked down the court for a layup to increase the lead to six (42-36). English never recovered, and went three-and-half minutes until its next field goal.”We struggle scoring, so we need to get points off turnovers,” said Hanscom. “We played smart down the stretch.”Marblehead forced the Bulldogs into a total of 20 turnovers. Scoring in transition was a key factor in the victory for Marblehead, and Bongiorno’s bucket with three minutes to play capped off an 8-0 run and gave the Magicians a 46-38 lead.”It was a tough battle here,” said Hanscom. “But we outlasted them at the end.”