SWAMPSCOTT — After losing its previous two games, Swampscott’s girls basketball team (6-4) was back to winning ways with a 46-11 victory against Salem Friday night.
Anna Kanders (18 points) started in style, hitting a corner triple before making an impact on defense with two steals leading to layups. Another three from Kanders made it 10-0 Swampscott three minutes into the game.
“She’s always impressive,” said Swampscott head coach Katelyn Leonard.
The Big Blue (6-4) played zone with their help-side defense consistently recording steals and deflections.
“The season is going well. I think we’re coming together at the right time,” Leonard said. “We hit a couple of tough losses, but I think we’re learning from them and we’re just stressing our defensive effort, and I think that’s what’s going to help us win.”
When Swampscott was in transition, its unselfishness showed. On a two-on-one break, Eve Byrne could’ve taken a layup, but at the last moment, passed the ball to Cecilia Tripp for an easier shot to give Swampscott a commanding 21-0 lead.
Sam Ward (12 points) drilled a corner three at the buzzer to end the first quarter (24-3).
“We have two or three really good 3-point shooters. When they’re on, they’re on,” Leonard said.
Swampscott continued to find openings in Salem’s defense and stretched its lead to 36-7 by halftime.
It was more of the same from the Big Blue in the bottom half.
Aside from Kanders and Ward, Swampscott received points from Tripp (8), Jianna David (4), Chloe Rodgers (2), and Lily Saelim (2).
“It’s good to get back in the win column. I think everybody is feeling positive now,” Leonard said. “We’re right at the halfway point in the season, so we really want to finish strong and put ourselves in a position to get into the (state) tournament and hopefully get some wins.”
Defense is what will win Swampscott more games down the line, according to Leonard.
“It’s something we work on a lot. We love to press. We’re a really fast team, so we like to take advantage of that when we can,” she said. “It’s just about boxouts for us. We want to own the boards.”
Now at the halfway point of the season, Leonard looks for Swampscott to avenge some Northeastern Conference losses.
“I’m excited to play some teams we’ve already played. Test ourselves against teams we beat early, and hopefully, be able to come back strong against Saugus and Marblehead and put ourselves in position to win,” she said. “I’m excited to get a second chance at some teams.”
The Big Blue travel to Gloucester Tuesday at 6 p.m.
