By Daniel Kane
MEDFORD — After one half, it looked like the Saugus girls basketball team was going to run away with a win at Medford. But things weren’t so easy and the Sachems had to survive a late Mustang’s push to earn a 52-42 win at Copper Gymnasium Monday night.
The Sachems hit six 3-pointers in the first half to build a 16-point lead before the break. The Mustang’s dwindled the lead down to as few as four points in the second half but Saugus made the plays it needed to late to hold on.
“I think Medford played hard,” Saugus coach Mark Schruender said. “They communicated well and were well invested. We were hot in the first half and that has a way of correcting itself in the game. The Medford kids, I give them credit. I think we made enough plays to win the game, which is important.”
Saugus got solid performances across the board with Molly Granara (12 points, nine rebounds, six steals) leading the way. Taylor Bogdanski led the Sachems with 14 points while Kiley Ronan scored eight. Sophomore Fallon Millerick (seven points, six rebounds) also made a handful of key plays.
“I thought our effort was great, especially defensively,” Schruender said. “Mentally we have to check in a little more but physically the kids worked hard. I thought Fallon Millerick played a great game overall (Monday). She had a tough assignment in the second half. Kiley Ronan was tough on defense and I liked the game that Shaylin Groark (five points) played as well.”
Saugus started the night on a 7-point run. Groark and Granara each added a quick basket and Ronan followed that with a 3-point to put Saugus ahead 7-0.
Bogdanski and Jillian Ricupero each hit 3’s a few minutes later to stretch the Sachems lead to 15-2.
Medford went on a small run to cut the Saugus lead to nine, but Bogdanski hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put Saugus ahead 21-9 before the second.
The solid shooting kept coming for the Sachems. Bogdanski and Granara each hit a 3-pointer and Millerick scored five points in the second to lead the Sachems to a 36-20 lead before half.
But the Mustangs looked like a new team in the second half. Medford started the third on an 8-point run before Saugus even got on the board. All in all, Medford outscored Saugus 15-5 in the frame to cut the Saugus lead to 41-35. Saugus’ shooting went cold and on defense the Sachems started to make some uncharacteristic mistakes.
“Defensively, we had some really good possessions and then possessions where we made some mental errors,” Schruender said. “That’s what practice is for. I have to coach better.”
The Mustangs cut the lead to four points midway through the fourth before the Sachems started to find some much needed rhythm. Ronan added a free throw and hit a jumper before Bogdanski hit a 3-pointer to put the Sachems ahead 48-38.
From there, Granara helped burn some time off the clock with a steal and offensive rebound and Saugus made its free throws to hold onto the win.
Saugus (6-2) travels to Salem Tuesday (7).
“We have a game (Tuesday), and our kids will be ready to go,” Schruender said. “I think offensively I was happy with our output. Kids were sharing the ball and rebounding. Our team right now, I love our team. The kids are really together and it’s a great group. Our bench was lively (Monday) so that was good.”
