It was a special evening in Marblehead Friday, as it was senior night for Marblehead girls basketball team where they squared off against rival Salem. The Magicians did not disappoint as they dominated the Witches 41-15 in front of their home faithful.
Marblehead head coach Paul Moran is always excited to be a part of the senior night festivities.
“It is a great tradition and I thought all five of our seniors played great tonight,” Moran said. “Captain Isabelle Ferrante, captain Carlin McGowan, captain Stella Monaco, Sara Bosio and Giorgia Dalla Valle (Jo), all scored, played hard and were key contributors to our success tonight.”
The Magicians decided to go with an all senior starting lineup against the Witches, which paid off.
Marblehead scored immediately after winning the opening tip, when Monaco found Ferrante open under the basket and gave Marblehead a 2-0 lead, a lead they never relinquished. The Marblehead seniors played just about the entire first quarter, and held a 13-3 lead at the end of the first. Ferrante scored six of the 13 points in the frame. The second quarter was a little more back and forth, but the Magicians ended the second on a 5-0 run.
The Marblehead run was capped off by a Bosio three-pointer, which made the score 23-8, and that was the score at the end of the first half. The Marblehead senior starting group also started the second half. McGowan scored the first four points for the Magicians in the third quarter, which extended their lead 27-10 with 4:00 left in the third. Marblehead finished the third the same way they finished the second, on a 5-0 run.
The run was produced by Marblehead underclassmen, as freshman Tessa Andriano swished a three and extended the Magicians lead 30-12 with 1:00 left in the frame.
On the ensuing Marblehead offensive possession, junior Sam Dormer drove hard to the basket and absorbed a lot of contact while finishing a strong right-handed layup. Marblehead held a commanding 32-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Moran hopes that his team’s success against Salem will have a domino effect for the rest of the season.
“We are started to play a little better than we did earlier in the year,” Moran said. “We are started to put up more points every game ever since that Swampscott game. I just want us to become a more consistent and balanced scoring team that does not turn the ball over as much like we did earlier in the season. We are improving in all those areas, which is great to see. We have a good home stretch coming up for us now where we must pick up some wins.”
Leading the way for Marblehead was its quintet of seniors, starting with Ferrante (eight points and three steals); McGowan (six points, five rebounds and three steals); Monaco (two points and five rebounds); Bosio (three points, three rebounds and two assists) and Dalla Valle (two points and four rebounds).