Despite falling to two division rivals, the Malden High Girls Basketball team has found its stride, posting wins against Everett, Salem, and Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. Malden, in a home contest at the Finn Gym versus the Whittier Wildcats, posted a 51-43 score in the matchup.
The first quarter would have been thrilling to watch for anyone who loves defense, as both teams contested almost every single shot in the defensive zone. Neither team seemed to have their touch on shots beyond the arc, as many bounced off the rim and out.
The Golden Tornados starting center, senior Anna Yak, was a vacuum on offensive and defensive rebounds, snagging several second-chance points to steadily push Malden up to an early first-quarter lead.
However, this early success did not come without its perils. As the game progressed, the Wildcats began to drive to the basket for a layup rather than shoot it from distance. This proved effective as Whittier Tech’s point guard Maddy Dawkins, who contributed 12 points to the team, drew several shooting fouls under the basket.
Malden began to adopt the same strategy as key offensive players such as Tori Gammon and Anna Yak, who shot several free throws to increase the Malden lead.
Perhaps the most entertaining element of the Golden Tornados game plan was their crisp passing around the court. The entirety of the team out there seemed to be patient and unselfish with the basketball. Before the end of the half, threes began to fall for Malden after the rough spell as Sophomore Point Guard Kimberly Tropnas became a sharpshooter with two quick threes before the end of the half.
As the ball got rolling in the third quarter, a frightening scene would unfold on the court as a scoring leader and captain Tori Gammon took a harsh fall to the floor after lunging for a ball in an attempt to reclaim it prior to a steal. Gammon unfortunately was taken off the court by medical staff and could not finish the game. However, the Golden Tornados persisted through this adversity of losing a starter, as they still posted a double-digit lead moving into the third quarter.
The fourth quarter seemed like it would be a breeze for the Golden Tornados, having dominated the Wildcats on both ends throughout the game. This would not be the case as the resilient Whittier team began to capitalize on Malden's defensive miscues and take advantage of some miscommunications. Time ticked off the clock for what seemed like a blink for Whittier and hours for Malden.
Whittier kept scoring, with forward Angel Efosa leading the charge with eight points.
Malden coaches called a much-needed timeout to regroup the team after Whittier cut the lead to striking distance, to just an eight-point game. Before the lead could get any closer, Malden captain Angie Colon decided to take matters into her own hands, pushing past Whittier's defense for a pair of layups and a mid-range shot alongside Anna Yak with several crucial buckets in crunch time. Malden had crushed the hopes of a Whittier comeback as the clock ran out and Malden had earned their hard-fought victory.
The top three scorers for Malden were Anna Yak with an efficient 18 points, Tori Gammon, despite playing two and half quarters with an impressive 14 points, and Kimberly Tropnas with 10.
Whittier's top performers went as follows: Angel Efosa with 14 points, Maddy Dawkins with 12 points, and Lauren Mazza with eight points.
Senior captain Maritza Ramos-Perez highlighted that she herself did a good job “feeding the ball to post players” and the team “had great communication.” As a captain, she believes she has done well overall. However, she has “had her off days, but the team has its own spark to it.” Ramos-Perez noted that in order for the team to make it back to States they would have to work on “uplifting each other more” and cutting down on little mistakes.
Anna Yak also was rather pleased with the team's performance, stating that they “played their hearts out and did a great job penetrating the gaps.” Despite this, Yak thinks that the team needs to “take it slower when taking shots and clean the fouls up.” Yak drew a similarity between this year’s team and last year’s team noting she believes they are “on the same road” and thinks she needs to slightly tweak her offensive game for more success later in the season.
Head coach Scott Marino said, “Our girls did well, even after losing a starter in the third, different girls stepped up and got the job done.” Marino did not seem pleased with the calls of the game and noted, “It was like there was a different opponent out on the court tonight, but I made sure the girls did not get distracted by elements that are out of their control and the girls did a great job even with the odds stacked against them.”
Marino also included that the team really shines when they play as a cohesive unit with ball movement and hustle through the whole game. Marino and the team, with hopes to make it to the state tournament, stated that “we lost 95% of our scorers from last year,” and that the team needed to stop turning the ball over. “The game should have been over in the first half, we missed 11 free throws and 9 layups; those are difference makers in close games,” said Marino.
Overall, Marino hopes to improve certain aspects of the team but is pleased with how the season has started and hopes to continue their win streak to carry them to a Greater Boston League title and an appearance in the state tournament.
