Blue Devils Avenge Loss to Wahconah

DALTON, Mass. -- After splitting the first two games of the season, the Drury girls' basketball team won the rubber match against Wahconah on Thursday night, using a solid defensive effort to earn a 42-32 road win over the Warriors. 

The Blue Devils (11-3) took control of the game in the second quarter, holding Wahconah (7-8) to just five points on their way to a two-point lead at halftime. John Franzoni's squad avoided a Warriors' run in the second half and closed out the victory with a 5-for-6 effort from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Trailing by five points at the start of the fourth quarter, the hosts hurt themselves by making just 4 of 9 foul shots in the final frame. 

"It was an excellent team effort to earn another tough road win," Franzoni said. "I thought our team showed tremendous poise and toughness throughout the contest, especially in the second half to maintain our lead. Olivia Carlson gave us solid minutes off the bench with four points, eight rebounds and a very good defensive effort. Once again, Danielle Racette played an excellent game on both ends of the court and took control late in the game with drives that set up key baskets by Ali Tatro and Shannon Garvey.

"Our defensive effort was crucial, holding a good offensive team to 32 points by contesting their half-court sets well and creating turnovers early in the second half that helped us to stretch our halftime lead."

Racette led her team in scoring for the third straight game, netting 15 points to go along with a team-high six assists. Senior forward Shannon Garvey added 10 points and five rebounds, while junior center Emily Moulton chipped in with six points and a team-high nine boards. 

Senior guard Gabby Lavinio scored 10 points to lead the Warriors, while sophomore forward Maddie Sprague added eight points. 

Drury next hosts New Leadership at 7 p.m. on Monday. Wahconah returns to action on Saturday with a home game against Frontier at 2:30. 

JV Game: After leading 12-6 at halftime, the Drury junior varsity girls' basketball team used an 18-2 run in the third quarter to earn a 42-10 victory over Wahconah. Katie Toomey led the way for the Blue Devils, scoring 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Jill Tietgens added nine points, all of which came from behind the 3-point line. 

Whitney Eastland and Angela Colson each had four points for the Warriors.