By Avonlea Cummings
Heartbeats thumping, footsteps thudding onto the wooden court floor, a basketball soaring into the air, the slight sound of a swoosh as the ball travels through the net, cheers filling the gymnasium space, and streams of sweat dripping down onto the floor from the working players. These are small details of the Dover-Sherborn girls' basketball competition against their hosts, the Medfield Warriors, for a Tri-Valley League competition last Friday evening. The Dover-Sherborn Raiders contended with grit and persistence, leading them to challenge the Warriors on the court. However, their win streak was bitten by the Warriors, as the Medfield girls secured their win in the night's competition 62-46.
As soon as tip off launched the first quarter, the Dover-Sherborn girls were fueled with energy and drive. The team worked swiftly down the court to start tallying up points onto the scoreboard, but the Warriors were prepared for the Raiders’ offensive pressure. The Raiders were quick to defend their side of the court, responding with the same amount of defensive pressure, blocking the Warriors, and reaching for rebounds off the hoop. However, the Warriors skill set had depth on the bench, and the Med Ball girls moved the ball quickly around the net, creating holes to make baskets quickly. By the end of the first quarter, Medfield took the lead 18-9.
Two minutes quickly passed by in between the first and second quarter, and the teams went straight back to action on the court. Dover-Sherborn came back onto the court with a burst of zest under their feet. The Raiders quickly inched up the leaderboard, narrowing the point gap that the Med Ball girls had created. Sinking threes left and right, and finding new ways to challenge the Medfield Warriors’ offense, the Dover-Sherborn girls closed the second quarter, adding 13 more points, making it a nail-biting experience for spectators watching. However, the Med Ball team knew the game wasn't nearly over yet, and continued to counter D-S' new changes on the court. The girls communicated well and snuck the ball into the net to continue their lead into the second half, 29-22.
After a brief ten-minute break to debrief and strategize the second half, the teams returned to the court with resilience. The Med Ball girls swept the ball right from the Dover-Sherborn girls, looking to maintain possession. The Raiders made opportunities for themselves to shoot, hoping to add more points on the board, but the Warriors quickly snagged the rebounds off the net. The Raiders were only able to tally up eight more points by the end of the third quarter, and the Med Ball girls were up 45-30.
Dover-Sherborn looked for new ways to continue to challenge their hosts of the evening in the fourth quarter. Flinging the ball in the air to make quick and snappy passes, the D-S girls got around the Warriors' tight defensive wall. The Raiders were able to pick up 16 more points to tally up at the end of the competition, but it was just short of the MedBall girls’ lead. The Medfield players secured their win for the evening after gaining 22 more points in the fourth to polish off the night 62-46. Dover-Sherborn's efforts on the court did not go unnoticed, however, Junior captain Elliana Scalabrine led the Raiders in points for the evening after pocketing 18 points. Alongside Scalabrine, Senior captain Erica Hills knocked in 17 points, Avery O'Connell took home seven points, and Amari Hughes snuck in four points.
Head coach Kanee Chlebda shared her thoughts on the game: “We only have eight players on our team so we have a short bench… so as a coaching staff, we were happy overall to stay with them (Medfield). To have a close game at the half to be down nine and even cut it to three, I was happy with that. I know it's not the outcome of the score at the end, which doesn't show how close it was along the way, but we know in bits and pieces that the game was within our grasp. The girls are unbelievable, they knew what this game meant… it's more about competing with a great team like Medfield," said Chlebda.
The girls will continue their season by hosting Millis High on Friday, February 2nd for a 6:00 PM tip off.
