The Winthrop girls basketball team has been waiting since March to get back on the floor, and Friday was the day. The Vikings came out on fire in their season opener, notching a 56-22 win over Gloucester at home in a Northeastern Conference bout.
“We’re just super thankful to be able to get out there and compete again,” said Winthrop coach Joe Lowe. “It was honestly pretty surreal to see girls out there on the court competing, and we were all really excited.”
Winthrop was led by senior Caroline Earl, who notched 16 points in the win. Senior Maura Dorr was close behind with 12 points, while freshman Kaylee Farrell had a big performance in her varsity debut with 11 points. Senior Lily Pulsifer added 10 points.
The Vikings got off to a bit of a slow start and led 12-6 after the first quarter. But from there, Winthrop caught fire. The Vikings only allowed 16 points over the final three quarters, holding a 48-18 lead at the end of the third before coasting to a win.
“We haven’t been able to practice that much over the past couple of weeks because of the holidays, so I think we came out a little slow to start,” said Lowe. “But once we shook off that first quarter, we really started to settle in and play well.”
Winthrop (1-0) will now have a few days to practice before taking on Beverly on the road Tuesday evening (6).
“We’re just going to prepare each day like we’re getting ready for Tuesday and we’re going to keep it positive,” said Lowe. “We’re appreciative of any chance we get to play, so we’re going to just work hard each day and try to keep this momentum going.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
Gloucester 64, Winthrop 45
The Winthrop boys basketball team fell behind 24-6 to open the game and looked to be in trouble, but the Vikings battled back to within 11 points and remained in the game the whole way before falling just short in the final quarter.
“After falling behind like that early, our guys really battled back and played a great game the rest of the way,” said Winthrop coach Mike Triant. “I was really proud of how the guys kept fighting the whole way, and I made sure they all knew that after the game.”
Senior captain Cam Conway led the way for Winthrop in the loss with 18 points, while junior Luca Zanelli had nine points. Junior captain Chris Cappuccio and sophomore Zach Bogusz each had seven points.
Winthrop (0-1) will play in its home opener Tuesday evening (6) against Beverly.
“This was a great building block for us and we’re going to try to take some lessons from this game,” said Triant. “I hate losing as much as the next guy, but the way we kept battling back is going to serve us well in the long run.”
