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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
It what was a tale of two halves for the Dover-Sherborn Regional High School varsity girls basketball team on Tuesday night at home against Ashland. The Lady-Raiders entered looking to bounce back from a 51-35 defeat to Medway on January 3, while the Clockers (2-3, 2-3) came in trying to snap a three-game losing skid.
The Raiders (2-3, 2-3) got off to a strong start, jumping out to a quick 8-3 lead following a three-pointer by senior guard Sophie Fallon (seven points). Ashland cut the deficit to 8-6 before a three-pointer by freshman Hana Skeary (team-high 12 points) made it a five-point game. A two-point floater at the buzzer by senior forward Olivia Collins (eight points) extended the DS lead to 13-6 at the end of one quarter.
The story of the second quarter was Hana Skeary. After Ashland got to within three at 15-12 early in the quarter, Skeary responded with a three-pointer to push the lead back to six at 18-12. Skeary then sank four free throws down the stretch of the quarter to put herself in double figures at 10 points, helping the Raiders to a 26-19 halftime lead.
Freshman guard Hana Skeary (24) moves the ball up the floor during her team-high 1two-point performance against Ashland on Tuesday.
The third quarter saw the tide shift as Ashland began to get hot from outside. A two-point jumper by Skeary gave the Raiders a 30-23 lead after Ashland cut the deficit to five, but it would be the final field goal of the quarter for DS. Ashland strung together a 14-1 run to close out the frame, and the Clockers entered the final quarter with a 37-31 lead.
Both teams played extremely strong defense in the fourth quarter. The Raiders held Ashland to just three fourth quarter points. A pair of free throws by Collins cut the deficit to four at 37-33. A free throw by junior forward Sabrina Ryan (five points) got DS back to within one possession at 39-36. A two-point floater by junior Kate Mastrobuono (three points) cut the deficit down to one at 39-38 with 1:30 to play. A free throw by Ashland made it a two-point game with 52 seconds remaining. With DS still down by two with 14.4 seconds to play, Mastrobuono forced a steal to set the Raiders up for a chance to tie the game. Following a timeout, DS turned the ball over out of bounds. Ashland inbounded the ball and dribbled out the remainder of the clock to steal the 40-38 victory.
DS will try and get back on track on January 17 at rival Westwood.
For funny and insightful sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram @flano0.
