WINTHROP — The Saugus girls basketball team put together a full team effort Monday night on the road, knocking off Winthrop by a score of 58-44 in a Northeastern Conference battle at Chris Tsiotos Court.
“It was really great to check off that first win of the season,” said Saugus coach Mark Schruender. “We have a ton of respect for Winthrop and what they do over there, so to come out and get a hard-fought win like this is always big.”
Peyton DiBiasio celebrated her birthday in style Monday night, leading the Sachems with a career-high 17 points.
“I’d say that’s a pretty good birthday celebration for her,” said Schruender.
Ashley Moore also scored a career-high 12 points in the win, while Fallon Millerick chipped in 11 points. Ashley Aldred, Jessica Bremberg and Cassie Israelson all played great on the defensive side for Saugus.
On the Winthrop side, Maddie Stiglets led the way with 15 points. Kaylee Farrell added 12 points in the loss.
For Lowe, the issue was simply a matter of Saugus coming out and playing better in all phases of the game Monday night.
“All the credit goes to Saugus, they shot better than us, rebounded better than us and just played better in all phases (Monday),” said Winthrop coach Joe Lowe. “It’s one of those things where we just have to move on, get back to practice and try to be better for the next game.”
Schruender is hoping that the solid performance and convincing win will help to give the Sachems some momentum moving forward.
“The key for us is that it’s a long season, and we know that every night it’s going to be tough to get a win,” said Schruender. “We want to enjoy this win, but we know we have plenty of work to do as the season goes on as well.”
Winthrop (2-1) hosts Gloucester Wednesday (6).
“We have a young team and we still have to learn how to win,” said Lowe. “It was great to start off the year with those two wins, but it also helps to have a little adversity now. We’ll see how we respond to it.”
Saugus (1-2) hosts undefeated Peabody Wednesday (7).
“Peabody is such a strong, smart and athletic team, it’s no surprise that they’re where they are so far this year,” said Schruender. “But once we turn the page to (Tuesday), our focus has to shift and we have to try to get ready for a much bigger team that has a lot of talented players and great coaching.”
