ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
KIPP’s Favour Ofuokwu battles Foxborough’s Ashley White for a loose ball.
By HAROLD RIVERA
When the KIPP girls basketball team struggles to score points, Nayeli Germosen comes to the rescue. Germosen, a junior, scored 19 points to lead all scorers as the Panthers defeated Foxborough Regional Charter, 43-32, on Thursday evening at KIPP.
“She’s our captain,” KIPP coach Andrea DeAngelo said of Germosen. “She’s usually one of our driving scorers, for sure. Sometimes her assists are up, and she usually scores 15 points a game. Today it was a little bit of an effort to get her teammates going and keep plays alive.”
The first half was a tight affair, as both team struggled with turnovers but did just enough to stay within reach. Foxborough’s Sharika Finch sunk a pair of buckets to give the Falcons a 7-5 lead but Gift Ofuokwu hit a jump shot to tie the game at 7-7 with 11 minutes remaining.
With three minutes left in the period, Finch knocked in a three to make it a one-point game at 15-14 in favor of KIPP. Foxborough’s Adoara Ekpunobi followed suit with a make from the charity stripe to tie the game at 15-15.
Germosen swished a three in the final minute of the period and the Panthers held a tight lead at the end of the first half, 20-19.
“She’s (Germosen) definitely a leader on our team,” DeAngelo said. “Kids on our team follow her. She’s grown in terms of keeping her composure. No matter what happens, she keeps her intensity up which is awesome.”
DeAngelo said her team’s foul struggles allowed younger players on the roster to get involved in a close game.
“When some of our players get riddled with foul trouble, other kids step up and that’s just what our younger kids have done all season, which is awesome” DeAngelo said.
Ekpunobi drained an early three to give the Falcons their first lead of the second half at 22-20. From there on out, the Panthers stepped up on the defensive end to keep Foxborough’s offense honest.
“Usually defense is the thing we can hang our hat on,” DeAngelo said. “We just pulled back and we made sure we weren’t spread. We kept switching back from a 2-3 to a 3-2, depending on what was happening, and our kids fluidly moved back and forth. Our defense got those stops.”
With a 28-27 lead midway through the period, Germosen found an open Gift Ofuokwu on a long-distance pass for a layup to make it 30-27. That sparked a 6-0 rally for the Panthers to give KIPP a seven point lead with five minutes to play.
KIPP’s Favour Ofuokwu scored five points in the closing minutes of the game to ice the victory for the Panthers, 43-32.
Favour Ofuokwu led the team in rebounds with nine boards and added five points. Her sister, Gift, finished the game with nine points.
For Foxborough, Ekpunobi scored 13 points while Finch added 11.
“Foxborough showed up,” DeAngelo said. “They’ve had some tough games in the past week and a half. Last year, we split games with them. They’re always a good contender.”
KIPP (9-2) hosts Community Charter of Cambridge next Tuesday.
