PEABODY — The No. 6 Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team took home the victory against the No. 11 Hudson Hawks in a Division 3 tournament Round of 16 game Tuesday night, winning 69-51 on its home court.
The first quarter started with the Crusaders taking an early lead and never looking back. Senior captain Olivia Found led the offense for the Crusaders with 22 points and five assists, followed by Cecilia Kay’s 17 points and 10 rebounds. Maria Orfanos and Nasha Arnold combined for 24 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
Throughout the game, the Crusaders and Hawks battled back and forth. Even with the early lead, the game never appeared to be one-sided. The Hawks left their heart and soul on the court tonight, but just couldn’t finish. For a majority of the game, the lead never went past nine, until the fourth quarter, when the Crusaders were able to blow the lead wide open and win by 18.
“We did some real simple stuff on offense, like hitting the people that are open,” said Bishop Fenwick head coach Adam DeBaggis when talking about the team’s fourth-quarter adjustments.
“We also changed our defense in the fourth quarter.”
While the Crusaders were able to come away with the victory on Tuesday, their performance was not up to par with what they’re typically capable of.
“We got a good lead, and we got some of those steals we were looking for, but I think we just gave up too many easy buckets,” said DeBaggis. “We have to play better defense. We have kids who are really good at getting steals; just a lot of times that leads to people being wide open for shots. We need to play a more controlled defense.”
One thing that separates the Crusaders from their competition is that they’re not selfish with the ball. A lot of smart passes and court awareness led to easy buckets and allowed for the Crusaders to maintain their lead throughout the game.
The Crusaders move to 19-6 and face off against No. 3 Norwell Friday night (TBD) in a Division 3 quarterfinal game on the road.
