LYNN — Early on Thursday, it looked like the Tech girls basketball team was going to give visiting Greater Lawrence a tough time. The Tigers defended and rebounded well, but their offense struggled to find any rhythm in a 52-30 loss.
“We just talked about how it didn’t feel like a 20-point loss,” Tech coach Kaitlyn Wechsler said. “We really felt like we were with them the whole time. It was just a couple little runs that ended up piling up. We really worked hard, it’s just weathering the storm. We need to battle in those close games. We haven’t had a lot of them.”
Alondra Sanchez did it all for the Tigers. Sanchez notched a double-double with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds and also had four steals and two blocks.
“Alondra definitely played well,” Wechsler said. “Obviously we run most of our offense through her. It needs to open up with some of our other scorers. Especially in a game like this we need to be able to get points from somewhere else. But she’s definitely the heart of our offense. When she goes, we go.”
The Tigers also put together one of their most consistent defensive games of the season. Adrianna Torres and Iranis Julio both stood out on the defensive end.
“I think that was one of our best defensive outings,” Wechsler said. “We focus on defense but I didn’t think that we’ve had a solid defensive performance yet. It was definitely better than it has been.
“Adrianna Torres is always our go-to defender,” Wechsler added. “We try to have her lock down the other team’s best player when possible. I thought Iranis Julio played good defense. She was on another one of their bigs and just closed that gap on (Greater Lawrence’s leading scorer Kiana Pena).”
The Tigers got out to an early lead after a steal from Niyo Mwajuma (five points). Sanchez grabbed a rebound and scored to put Tech ahead 2-0.
Tech grabbed four more steals in the first quarter but couldn’t make the most of it on the offensive end. The Reggies went on an 11-point run spanning most of the first and went ahead 11-2.
The Tigers offense started to open up a bit more in the second quarter. After a small run by the Reggies, Sanchez hit a free throw and Mwajuma scored her first basket to cut the lead to 17-7. From there, Sanchez scored two straight baskets to put Tech right back in the game at 17-11.
Turnovers helped the Reggies take a 21-13 lead into the half, but two quick buckets out of the break from Sanchez got the Greater Lawrence lead down to 23-17 in the third quarter.
Greater Lawrence responded with one of its biggest runs of the night. Pena and Julia Diaz combined for 13 points and the Reggies went ahead 38-19 before the fourth quarter.
The Reggies got their lead up to as many as 30 in the fourth, but the Tigers ended the night on a high note. Tech finished on an eight-point run, including two free throws from Lilly Cote, before falling 52-30
“We’ve been spending a lot of time on offense lately because the girls need to get their confidence up,” Wechsler said. “They’re younger girls who haven’t had a lot of minutes on the court the last couple years. It’s definitely a different kind of speed playing in the varsity game. Hopefully it’s going to come. We’re attacking a little bit harder now we just need to finish.”
Tech (2-6) has a quick turnaround as the Tigers host Chelsea Friday (5:30).
