BRAINTREE — The Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team brought a stout defensive effort to the floor Wednesday evening, notching a 49-20 win over Archbishop Williams on the road in a Catholic Central League bout.
“It was nice to see us come out with that kind of performance on the defensive end,” said Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis. “We went out there, did our job and defended well.”
Senior captain Veronica Tache led the offensive attack for Fenwick, notching 16 points, five rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Olivia Found was right behind with 12 points, three rebounds, five assists and six steals, while junior guard Nasha Arnold had 12 points and eight rebounds. Senior captain Brynn Bertucci (three points, four rebounds), sophomore Morginn Kotchian (three points, one rebound) and senior captain Liz Gonzalez (two points, five rebounds, five assists) also played well in the win.
“We can be a really dangerous team when we get so many different girls contributing,” said DeBaggis. “We have plenty of girls who can score, and it’s good to be able to not have to rely on one or two players.”
Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start in this one, but Fenwick quickly gained control. By the end of the first quarter, the Crusaders held a 17-8 lead.
“They were switching defenses on us early on, so it was nice to have the kind of depth that we do where we could just make those adjustments on the fly,” said DeBaggis. “We scored well in transition off of our defense, and that’s a great way to counter those switching defenses.”
Fenwick remained in control from there behind the hot hands of Tache and Found. Arnold also had a strong stretch in the second quarter, helping lead the Crusaders to a 28-14 lead at the halftime break.
The Crusaders stretched their lead to as many as 23 points in the third quarter, firmly taking control of the game. After leading 41-18 at the end of the third quarter, Fenwick coasted to an easy victory.
Fenwick (2-0), which had been off for more than a week before taking the floor Wednesday, is back in action Monday (6:30) with a home game against Arlington Catholic.
“Every day we have to take things on the fly, and the girls know that and understand that things can change,” said DeBaggis. “We just have to come in each day and focus on what is in front of us. We’ll roll with whatever punches are thrown at us.”
