KIPP’s girls basketball team faced off against the Lynn English Bulldogs in the first game of the Walter Boverini City-Wide Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Classical High.
The Bulldogs began the tournament with an impressive 72-7 victory, led by senior Matty Laurino (18 points) and junior captain Jaeleigh Perry (18 points). English was dominant in all aspects of the game.
The Maroon and Grey had no trouble early with Perry scoring consecutive baskets in the post as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 12-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Sophomore guard Amara Flores (12 points) showed her quick hands, coming up with multiple steals. She was also unselfish when pushing the ball upcourt, finding teammates effectively and in stride. The unselfishness rubbed off on the rest of the team as the Bulldogs continuously made extra passes.
“It was good to see that [extra passes] tonight because we haven’t done much of it in the past. So, that shows a good sign moving forward that we can do it, we are capable of doing it, and I just want us to do more of it,” English head coach Travonne Berry-Rogers said.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs kept up the pressure and dominated the offensive boards. For every fastbreak the Bulldogs had, each member of the team ran the floor for a putback in case a shot was missed.
In all aspects of the game, English came ready.
“We came out and did what we wanted to do, which was to just have a lot of defensive pressure, get layups, and get easy shots,” Berry-Rogers said.
KIPP head coach Tiffany Harris said the Panthers were missing players due to injury. The Panthers didn’t quit and continued to play with energy despite being down 39-3 at halftime.
KIPP did have some highlight plays, specifically in the third quarter when junior Katrina Fortes (four points) hustled off a KIPP turnover and caught up with a running Bulldog. She then blocked the shot out of bounds, leading to a loud reaction from the KIPP faithful.
“She [Fortes] played really well defensively. We’re still working on offense, getting her to turn and shoot. But defensively, she gets to her spot and she knows where to go, so it’s really good to have,” Harris said.
Despite the English win, Berry-Rogers said there is room for improvement.
“We still have a lot of things that we need to clean up. Too many silly fouls and we cannot afford that when we have bigger games,” Berry-Rogers said. “Our biggest focus is to tighten up our man-to-man defense because that is the style of play we want to have.”
Both English and KIPP are back in action Thursday. The Bulldogs will face Classical in the championship game at 3 p.m., while the Panthers battle Tech in a consolation game at 12 p.m.
