Lynn Classical was victorious Thursday night against the Chelsea Red Devils, 42-15, at home. The Rams played with energy and passion, determined to bring home the win. Leading the way were sophomore Keisha Perez (10 points) and senior Ava Thurman (nine points).
“I thought we played with a lot of energy tonight – right from the beginning, which was important,” Classical head coach Tom Sawyer said.
Getting out to a big lead early allowed Sawyer to get everyone involved. He was glad all 13 girls got on the court.
“It was good to get everybody into the game and involved. It was a good night,” Sawyer said.
Perez and senior Lauren Hennessey (five points), combined to score 11 of 17 first-quarter points for the Rams, who built a 12-point cushion at the end of the quarter leading 17-5.
Against Chelsea’s zone defense, the Rams got open shots but struggled from the perimeter. Classical still won the quarter to extend its lead to 14 points at the half.
“I thought we had pretty good ball movement against their zone,” Sawyer said. “It takes ball movement and player movement – it was pretty good tonight.”
To start the third quarter, the Rams showed the potential of their defense and man-to-man press. Their stifling pressure was too much for the Red Devils, who found it difficult to bring the ball up. Thurman shined, especially, stealing the ball and scoring on back-to-back possessions.
The defense seemed to be contagious because Perez, and senior Akiyah Brown (four points), also recorded multiple steals and baskets. Classical went on a 12-0 run in the third quarter due to its defense, leading to easy transition points.
Sawyer said the press and overall team defense have been some of their strengths so far this season.
“We like to play up-tempo. We like to use our press to create some offense,” Sawyer said. “I thought they played really really good on defense. Our press was effective early and we just worked on our half-court, man-to-man defense for the rest of the game.”
In the fourth quarter, the Rams’ guards broke down the Red Devils. Sophomore Maegan Baker attacked the space Chelsea was giving her and made the right decision regarding when to pass the ball or to shoot.
Senior Kylee Mills provided an assist to sophomore Nevaeh Eth who knocked down a mid-range jump shot to increase the Rams’ lead. Moments later, Mea Papazoglou showed off her nifty handles to attack the paint before being fouled by a Chelsea defender.
Sawyer said he liked how his team was rooting for each other no matter who was on the floor.
“They’re a good group of kids. We played everybody tonight and no matter who was sitting on the bench, they were cheering on their teammates who were in the game, and that is important for us,” Sawyer said.
Classical hosts Triton on Friday, December 16 at 6 p.m.
Points leaders: Perez (10), Thurman (nine), Hennessey (five), Brown (four), Eth (four), Gigi Ramirez (three), Kaleigh Bullock (two), Papazoglou (two), Linda Jallow (two), Savannah Tang (one).
Mark Aboyoun can be reached at [email protected]
