Last night the Masuk girls’ basketball team suffered a loss against the Weston Trojans, ending the game with a final score of 52-59. They played Weston in a home game at Masuk High School, going into overtime at the end of the game, after having a tied score of 46-46 at the end of the 4th quarter.
The team started off the game with lots of ball movement between players, allowing Bailey Bajda to get past the competition and make a basket. “We had very good ball movement and off-ball movement on offense,” commented Lauren Breyan. The girls continued with their rapid passing and shot attempts, with Bajda scoring two more two-point baskets, and Sofia Lieto scoring a third basket. After fluid passing between Sofia Lieto, Jenna Smith, and Maya Ventresca, the team scored another two baskets, one from Sofia Lieto and one from Smith. In the last seconds of the first quarter, Ventresca scored another basket for Masuk, Bringing the score at the end of quarter one to 14-4.
Quarter 2 opened with more passing and movement of the ball between members of the team, and Natalie Lieto getting consistent rebounds off of both baskets. The team scored a basket thanks to Hannah Fagan followed by numerous rebounds from Natalie Lieto and steals from Fagan and Sofia Lieto. This was followed by Sofia Lieto scoring two free throw shots and a basket from Ventresca. Ventresca quickly scored another basket, followed by a basket scored by Grace Kearney. The team was doubling Weston’s score at halftime, with a score of 25-12 at the end of the second quarter.
Weston brought the heat during quarter 3 and made it difficult for girls to continue playing the wide game that they had been playing for the first two quarters. After lots of movement off the ball from both teams, Fagan went one for four in free throw shots. After numerous passes between Bajda and Fagan, Bajda scored a two-point basket. This was followed by Fagan going one for two in free throw shots and an additional basket scored by Kearney. after lots of passing between Bajda and Ventresca, Bajda made a basket with an assist from Ventresca. Shortly after, Bailey scored another two-point shot and scored an additional point with a free throw. Though the team continued to have lots of movement on the ball and tried to make numerous shots, they were unsuccessful and ended the quarter with a score of 36-22.
The girls started off quarter 4 with lots of passing between Bajda and Natalie Lieto, with Bajda scoring two baskets. The girls continue to have lots of movement and passing between the entire team, which allowed Kearney and Natalie Lieto to each score a two-point basket. Weston began to play a wide game just as Masuk had been doing throughout the match, making it difficult for Masuk to block them. The other team scored numerous three-pointers, as well as other baskets, allowing them to catch up to the girls’ score. Ventresca helped to increase Masuk’s score after making two free throw shots, but these shots were shortly followed by three free throw shots from the other team, tying up the score at 46-46 at the end of the final quarter. Coach Young commented that “I thought for three quarters that they played really hard and moved the ball well and knocked down some shots, you had to give credit to Weston, they made 8 out of 10 shots in that fourth quarter, made their free throws, they did a nice job at the end.”
At the start of overtime, Weston got the initial jump ball, but Masuk quickly stole it. after lots of ball movement between both teams, Kearney scored a basket and Bajda went two for two in free throws. the other team quickly caught up though, scoring four points for their team, making the score even once more. Though Masuk fought hard, the other team, through a series of free throw shots as well as a two-point shot, scored an additional nine points, with Masuk only scoring one more two-point basket. Ay the sound of the final buzzer, the score came to 52-59 Weston. Though they lost, Breyan says that “I think all around our team had a very good game, we worked well together and had some good defensive stops.” Coach Young adds that he hopes to improve the team by expanding their skill set. “I think we can be a diverse team in terms of fast, good shooting, attacking and defensive, so it to be able to do multiple things, that’s what we’re trying to do.” The Masuk girls’ basketball team will play their next game against Notre Dame on Jan. 17.
Masuk Free Press 