It was a tale of two halves for The Marblehead girls basketball team Tuesday night against Winthrop. The Magicians controlled play in the first half, but the Vikings’ offense exploded in the second half to the tune of a 54-44 victory.
Nonetheless, Marblehead head coach Paul Moran was pleased with how his team performed.
“We are starting to play more consistently on both ends of the floor, and we are putting up larger point totals with each passing game,” Moran said. “Give Winthrop credit, they are a good, well coached team who deserved to win tonight.”
It was tight early on as Marblehead freshman Tessa Andriano scored the first and last basket of the opening quarter by way of threes. The score was tied 13-13 at the end of first.
The pace slowed down in the second, but junior Katie Pyne scored five points in a row for the Magicians and gave them a 20-16 midway through the quarter.
Andriano scored the last basket of the second, but fell hard to the floor after absorbing a foul and finishing a layup in the process. Andriano missed the free throw and didn’t return in the second half.
“Tessa leaving the game injured was a big blow for our team,” Moran said. “Tessa seems to be okay, but will be reevaluated tomorrow. She was having a really nice game, and that play definitely changed momentum of the game.”
Andriano finished the first half with eight points and seven rebounds, helping to propel Marblehead to a 24-21 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Magicians scored the first two points, but the Vikings answered by going on a 15-0 run over five minutes, and took a 36-26 lead with just under three minutes remaining.
“Winthrop just came out with more energy to begin the second half,” Moran said. “Once they got rolling, we had a tough time slowing them down. I felt like once we stopped their run, we did play better the rest of the way.”
Marblehead junior Sam Dormer stopped the run by swishing a straight-away three-pointer, but the Magicians trailed 38-31 heading into the fourth. The Magicians couldn’t generate one final run, as they played just about even with the Vikings in the final frame.
Dormer led the way for the Magicians, finishing the game with a team-high 14 points. Sara Bosio (12 points and three assists) and Ramona Gillett (five points and five rebounds) also had strong showings for the Magicians.
Marblehead’s next game will be Senior Night on Thursday as Salem comes to town.
Jerry DiStefano can be reached at [email protected]
