On Friday January 27th, the Masuk girl’s basketball team played a home game at Masuk High School against New Milford, losing with a final score of 44-34.
The game started off with New Milford and Masuk both fighting for equal control of the ball. New Milford had a narrow lead of 13-10 at the end of the first quarter. The first quarter consisted of runs up and down the court with equal possession from both teams. The Masuk girls began the game with lots of fast paced ball movement and passing between the players, allowing Maia Ventresca to make a shot right off the bat. Ventresca and Bailey Bajda had great combination plays during the first quarter.
Coach Daniel Young explained, “Our strategy going into the game was to put pressure on the outside and double on the girl in the middle, get to the inside and then get out and run.”
For New Milford numbers 42 and 22 were the main point scorers being the most dominating players on the field. For Masuk the lead point scorer was Bailey Bajda with 10 points scored for Masuk.
The second quarter marked the start of a more physical game where at the end of the first half both teams had 8 fouls each. This led to many baskets scored by New Milford and less by Masuk. The New Milford players excelled at making free throw shots and scored on almost every one of them. This led them to get a better lead on Masuk. But the Masuk battled to regain some of the lost points and barely trailed behind New Milford toward the end of the quarter. Masuk ended the second quarter with baskets from Samantha Dubi, and Natalie Lieto in the final minutes of the quarter. The quarter came to a close with a score of 25-21 New Milford.
The third quarter resulted in more energy from both teams but New Milford quickly applied pressure to Masuk’s defense. New Milford held control of the game as they spent the first minutes of the quarter in Mausuk’s half, not letting the Masuk defense rest. But with a good combination passing from Jenna Smith to Sami Dube. After Dube made the basket, New Milford regained control of the game and moved the ball back to Masuk’s half. The third quarter ended with the score of 34-23 New Milford.
At the start of the fourth quarter Masuk brought the intensity. Bailey Bajda, Natalie Lieto, and Hannah Fagan all scored in the first few minutes of the 4th quarter. But it was not enough as New Milford excelled at making rebound shots and three-pointers. It was a close game in the 4th quarter with both teams fighting for victory, but in the end New Milford broke away from Masuk. They quarter ended with a score of 43-34 New Milford.
Although the Panthers did not come out on top at last night’s game, there are many upcoming games which will pose opportunities for redemption for the team.
Young remarked, “We’ve got to improve all over the place, there’s a lot to fix but I’m proud of how they played today. I think they kept a good intensity and put in a good effort but sometimes it just doesn’t go our way.”
Despite a discouraging loss, the girls will face Bunnell at their upcoming game this Monday and work towards ending their losing streak.
Masuk Free Press 