BOSTON — Marblehead’s girls basketball team took down Saugus, 39-36, at the Andrew James Lawson Foundation Invitational in what ended up being a back-and-forth battle at TD Garden.
The foundation, created in honor of Lawson, was made “to advance and improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by funding, developing and promoting programs, projects or individual scholarships that encourage and support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and help foster inclusion in their community,” according to the foundation’s website.
The first quarter was quiet offensively with Marblehead clinging to a 5-4 lead after one. Despite the lack of offensive movement, defense was explosive for both teams.
Saugus pulled out a strong press with Madison Botta and Ella Castle leading the way. The pressure led to a quick steal for Peyton DiBiasio, who, in return, found Castle in the paint for Saugus’ first field goal of the game. Moments later, that same scrappy defense forced Marblehead coach Paul Moran to call a timeout.
Conversely, the Magicians managed to silence sharpshooter DiBiasio – Saugus’ all-time leading scorer as of last week – with a strong zone defense led by Samara Dosch and Tessa Andriano.
The second quarter was nearly identical to the first with Marblehead finishing with a 12-11 lead. Once more, defense was the story.
From there, it was a shot-for-shot contest with DiBiasio waking up on the parquet floor. She buried a a pull-up 3-pointer and multiple jumpers from outside the paint. The Sachems finished the third quarter ahead, 25-23, but Marblehead entered the fourth with momentum thanks to a buzzer-beating triple from Dosch.
Dosch began the fourth quarter in the same fashion with another 3-pointer. Saugus responded with quick twos from Sydney Deleidi and DiBiasio, but once again, Marblehead swung back with an easy bucket from Ramona Gillett.
Marblehead’s final push came when Andriano tied the game, 33-33. Afterward, a few more baskets came from Greta Sachs, who held a strong position in the paint. Sachs (12 points) went 3-for-4 in the final minutes and finished as Marblehead’s leading scorer. A late three by Taylor Deleidi brought it back to a one-score game, but Marblehead held strong to escape victorious.
“We’re so proud to have represented Marblehead in this game… I am so proud to be a part of today,” Moran said. “Our guard play was really good with Samara Dosch and Lucy McDonald. And Tessa Andriano did such a great job today breaking their pressure because Saugus’ coach (Joe Lowe) is outstanding. We did a really nice job today. All of our bigs, Olivia Goldwater, Ramona Gillett, Greta Sachs, and Maddie Forbes, did such a great job finishing around the rim.”
Moran finished by saying it was an exciting game, exciting day for Marblehead, and exciting event for the Lawson Foundation.
“Very proud to be involved,” he said.
