Spaulding prevails 61-21 in season opener
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Spaulding senior Natalie Shea drives around Randolph senior Katie Jickling during the first half of the Crimson Tide's 61-21 win on Friday. JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR/TIMES ARGUS |
Toolbox
By Anna Grearson TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: December 5, 2009
RANDOLPH Defending Division I girls basketball state champion Spaulding found itself in an unfamiliar place Friday night at Division III Randolph down seven points after the first quarter.
From there, the Crimson Tide gathered themselves and answered emphatically, running away with a 61-21 girls basketball win over the Galloping Ghosts.
"The girls woke up and started taking better care of their passes and playing better position defense," Spaulding coach Tom Roberge said. "I didn't expect a team with this much experience to have first-game jitters, but they are high school kids and I can't say enough about their effort. This is a great learning experience for them too, because teams are going to come at us, like these guys did. This team came at us and gave us a good run for the first quarter. They came and punched us in the face, and I'm glad we got up."
Molly Jacobs and Ashley Lafreniere put Randolph up 6-2 and Shayne Reis helped the Ghosts to an 11-4 lead after the first quarter.
"It's a great confidence bump for them," Randolph coach Scott Lafreniere said of his team. "They just really worked hard. Their work ethic was great. Going against a powerhouse like Spaulding, I'm really proud of them, regardless of the outcome. The whole game they worked really hard."
"In that first quarter, we really dug ourselves a hole with fouls," Roberge said, "just reaching and not playing disciplined defense, and they ran the court very well in the first quarter and made us try to make up for it with reaches."
A pair of Randolph turnovers and five quick points by Spaulding sophomore Courtney Lawson gave the Tide its first lead of the game 14-13 with 5:01 left in the second quarter and it was all Spaulding from there.
"Our seniors Casey Koch, Olivia Badeau, Kristy Thygesen and Linsey Barclay, gave us good leadership in terms of at halftime, getting people's heads screwed on and helping us maintain composure," Roberge said. "Leadership is huge, and we've got it."
The Crimson Tide ran off 28 unanswered points, spanning 7:12 of the second quarter and all but 2:47 of the third quarter, resulting in a 41-16 Spaulding lead after 24 minutes of play."One of our strengths is our bench," Roberge said. "Everybody can contribute and give us good minutes. I liked our sophomores Courtney Lawson and Aliza Benoit gave us good minutes off the bench. They ran the court hard and hustled. Courtney, in the second quarter, knocked down some big shots that got us going."
Spaulding scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter and opened up a 38-point lead, 54-16, with 4:40 left in the game. Barclay tallied seven of her 14 points in that three-minute span. The Crimson Tide, who were outrebounded early in the game, really took control of the glass and cashed in several second-chance opportunities.
Ashley Lafreniere and Reis led Randolph with four points apiece.
"She was guarding a pretty strong girl, and she's got a knack of finding the ball and works well inside," coach Lafreniere said of Reis. "She's got some good drop steps and post moves."
Shannon Wallman-Hatch grabbed seven rebounds, and Katie Jickling had six. Randolph, now 0-2, plays at Mount Abraham on Wednesday.
Barclay's 14 points including 4-of-4 foul shooting led all scorers. Lawson finished with 12 and Koch added 11. Spaulding starts the season at 1-0 and hosts Brattleboro on Tuesday.
Spaulding 61, Randolph 21
SPAULDING (61)
Quintin 1 2-6 4, Thygesen 3 0-0 6, Shea 0 0-0 0, Koch 4 3-6 11, Barclay 5 4-4 14, LaFrance 2 0-1 4, Badeau 1 2-3 4, Magoon 1 3-4 5, Lawson 4 1 1-2 12, Benoit 0 1-4 1. Totals 21 1 16-30 61.
RANDOLPH (21)
Reis 2 0-2 4, Connolly 0 1-2 1, Jickling 1 1-2 3, Mugford 1 1-2 3, Sheridan 0 0-0 0, Wallman-Hatch 0 2-4 2, Jacobs 1 0-0 2, Lafreniere 2 0-0 4, Chase 1 0-4 2. Totals 8 5-16 21.
Spaulding 4 21 16 20 61
Randolph 11 2 3 5 21
Three-pointers: S Lawson. Fouled out: R Reis, Jacobs.
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