Sports

Basketball: Despite Loss, Marauders' Girls Find a Scorer; Boys' Soar By Spartans to Stay Unbeaten

Belmont lost to Stoneham but finds a scorer

There is noting good about a loss, but there can be a silver lining in defeat. And that occurred Friday, Dec. 20, when Belmont High School Girls' Basketball discovered that Ashleigh Chinn can put the ball through the hoop.

Belmont's senior off-guard slashed through a very-good Stoneham High School defense scoring 18 points to lead the Marauders who stayed close to the senior-laden (playing 8 upperclassmen on the 12 member team) Spartans before falling, 57-48, at Wenner Field House.

"She's looking to score because she's so quick," said Head Coach Melissa Hart of Chinn who was joined by sophomore guard Irini Nikolaidis (8 points) in aggressively going to the basket. 

The Marauders (1-2) didn't appear that they would have much for Hart to praise as the Spartans (3-0), lead by senior guard and captain Grace Macura (a game high 19 points) and junior center Olivia Gaughan (6 of her 8 points in the first), got off to very fast start, going up 18-6 and then finishing with 26 points at the end of the first quarter, 26-12.

But Belmont would begin scrapping back, outscoring the Spartans in the second behind Chinn – who continued sprinting past defenders for uncontested layups – and the rebounding on both ends of the court from junior center Linda Herlihy (5 points) while sophomore forward Sarah Stewart (6 points) continued her solid work on the court.

"We had some moments of really good basketball; we were passing the ball better than we had for years especially moving up court," said Hart.

Entering the fourth quarter down by double digits (50-37), Belmont upped the defense – Stoneham was held to 7 points in the final stanza – and created enough turnovers to cut the lead in half (52-45) with Chinn and junior point guard Sophia Eschenbach-Smith (3 points) hitting jumpers and driving shots. 

But three consecutive possessions without points and a clutch basket from senior Stephanie Bramante (9 points) gave Stoneham the lead they needed to hold off Belmont's final quarter with 11 points. 

"We have a lot of good kids who play as a team and that shows up in our defense which is very good at times," said Hart.

Boys' undefeated as Marauders ran by Spartans

Adam Pritchard, head coach of the Belmont High School Boys' Basketball team, doesn't get all-that excited when discussing about his teams; he believes in keeping an even keel when discussing his team.

"We could have a good team this year. We will have to see how we stand up against the competition," he said.

So far after three games, the results indicates a very good team in Belmont as the Marauders have defeated two of the Boston Globes' Top 20 eastern Massachusetts teams – #17 Watertown and #19 Melrose – before the team swept aside host Stoneham High School Spartans, 79-52, on Friday, Dec. 20, to remain undefeated in the 2013-2014 season.

The Marauders ran off to a 21-6 lead after the first quarter (that included a 14-0 run) and extended that to 34-17 at the half.

Belmont was led by junior center Adam Kleckner (17 points) and the backcourt duo of sophomore Matt Kerans (14 points) and junior Ben Lazenby (10 points).

Next up for the Marauders will be the Belmont High School Alumni Basketball game on 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26 at Wenner Field House before heading to the Brockton Basketball Tournament over this coming weekend.


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