
As the season continues, Malden High’s Girls’ Basketball team has already set themselves up with a good start while playing against Lynn Classical. Both teams fought, but Malden was able to take the win home on December 17th, 2024, on their first away game.
Before the game started, the team huddled up together and said their last words before breaking up. Then the team lined up to cheer on the starting players, which included senior captains Kimberly Tropnas and Ina Tolete, senior Amanda Lily Ebenezer, junior Madison Cook, and sophomore Manicha Exilhomme. After cheering, everyone lined up to face the flag for the national anthem. Finally, the game started.

During the first quarter, Malden was nervous about going against Lynn Classical. “I was a little bit nervous because I knew that the game was a big game, especially because it was at the beginning of the season, and last year, we did lose to Lynn Classical School two times,” shared senior captain Kimberly Tropnas. Even though she was nervous, she was still confident that Malden could beat Lynn Classical due to prior practices.
Senior captain Ina Tolete also shared similar thoughts to Tropnas, believing “that it was a big test for us as a team, because that was an actual team that we had to go against that was our upper division in the GBL. So going into it, we were all pretty nervous, and it showed in the first quarter.”
“When it was the first away game, I felt great to be back. I was a little nervous but in my mind, I kept thinking ‘We got this’ and kept cheering on my teammates,” mentioned junior Jaziarra Antoine.
The start was slow—but within minutes, Lynn Classical was able to score. Their fast running made it hard for Malden to catch up. While not having any points at first, Tropnas gave Malden their first points of the game, with a score of 7-2 before Malden Coach Scott Marino called a time-out.
Even though Lynn Classical was five points ahead of Malden, Malden’s tough defense made it hard for Lynn Classical to score over seven points, leaving the first quarter the same with a score of 7-2. Malden was not intimidated by the point difference, believing that they still had a chance to win.

During the first quarter, Malden was nervous about going against Lynn Classical. “I was a little bit nervous because I knew that the game was a big game, especially because it was at the beginning of the season, and last year, we did lose to Lynn Classical School two times,” shared senior captain Kimberly Tropnas. Even though she was nervous, she was still confident that Malden could beat Lynn Classical due to prior practices.
Senior captain Ina Tolete also shared similar thoughts to Tropnas, believing “that it was a big test for us as a team, because that was an actual team that we had to go against that was our upper division in the GBL. So going into it, we were all pretty nervous, and it showed in the first quarter.”
“When it was the first away game, I felt great to be back. I was a little nervous but in my mind, I kept thinking ‘We got this’ and kept cheering on my teammates,” mentioned junior Jaziarra Antoine.
The start was slow—but within minutes, Lynn Classical was able to score. Their fast running made it hard for Malden to catch up. While not having any points at first, Tropnas gave Malden their first points of the game, with a score of 7-2 before Malden Coach Scott Marino called a time-out.
Even though Lynn Classical was five points ahead of Malden, Malden’s tough defense made it hard for Lynn Classical to score over seven points, leaving the first quarter the same with a score of 7-2. Malden was not intimidated by the point difference, believing that they still had a chance to win.
“Although we were down, it wasn’t like it was 5-50; there was only such a small gap, which we knew we could fill. So during that moment, I didn’t really put my head down, I was still confident that we could win that game,” commented Tropnas.
“My main motto for the season was to always have hope and to always believe in each other. So even though we were down 7-2, it didn’t really matter, because whatever five was out there, whether it was the starting five or we had somebody from the bench coming in, we just kind of believed that we could do it,” said Tolete. She added that when you believe in each other, then you can make anything happen.”
During the second quarter, Malden was determined to score more points, and this quarter showed their determination. Both teams had strong defense, but Malden’s was stronger. They were able to cover the ball quickly, making it difficult for Lynn Classical to score.
When the clock hit 5:40, Tropnas scored Malden a 3-pointer, making the score 7-5 with Malden chasing. Two minutes later, Tropnas was able to score two times in a row in less than ten seconds: first another 3-pointer when the clock hit 3:40, and a 2-pointer when the clock hit 3:41—making Malden able to lead the game 10-7.

After Tropnas scored, Lynn Classical called a time-out. Once the time ran out, Lily Ebenezer scored within just ten seconds and scored again with a score of 14-7. With Malden consistently playing strong defense, it made it difficult for Lynn Classical to score.
But when the time was 3:48, Lynn Classical made a 3-pointer, almost ending the quarter with a score of 14-10 until Exilhomme made a foul shot and made the final score of 15-10.
Once halftime ended, both teams undoubtedly wanted to win. The next quarter proved how competitive the game was with the scores going back and forth. Within minutes, sophomore Exilhomme made another point during a foul shot, and Malden had a score of 16-10. With 6:28 left in the quarter, Lynn Classical made a 2-pointer and then another in less than a minute. The score was 16-14, and Lynn Classical was able to catch up to Malden and eventually tied with 16-16.
Lynn Classical was almost able to lead, but the teams tied again. Yet Lily Ebenezer broke the tie, scoring a 2-pointer and then making a foul shot. This upped the score to 21-18. But Lynn Classical was still able to catch up, with them scoring another 2-pointer resulting in a score of 21-20, and Malden calling a timeout.
After the timeout, Lynn was able to lead 22-21. Junior Olivia Rodrigues was then able to have Malden lead the game by gaining two points during her foul shots, scoring 23-22. With less than 30 seconds left, Tropnas made a 3-pointer and Tolete gained another point during her foul shot, having a score of 27-22. The quarter ended with a score of 27-23 in favor of Malden, with Lynn Classical gaining a point during a foul shot in the last few seconds of the quarter.
With the score going back and forth, it became stressful for the players. For Tropnas, “The only thing going through my mind was, ‘alright, now I have to score.’ Now I have to score, now I have to find a way to score.”
During the fourth quarter, it was like a war against Malden and Lynn Classical with both teams wanting to win. Junior Sophia Rodrigues was quick to get a pass from a teammate and scored points for Malden during 7:45 minutes, and then scored again a minute later, lifting the score to 31-23. Following that, Malden called a timeout.
After the timeout ended, Lynn Classical was able to get a point by catching up to Malden with a score of 31-25. Almost 20 seconds later, senior Lily Ebenezer scored and then scored again gaining a score of 35-25. Malden was ten points ahead until Lynn Classical scored a 2-pointer, 35-27, followed by them calling a timeout.

With only a few minutes left of the game, it became even more competitive, and both teams went back and forth scoring points. Lily Ebenezer put Malden ten points ahead and scored 37-27 with five minutes left of the game, but was later ended by Lynn Classical two minutes later, scoring 37-29. Malden again called a timeout.
After it ended, Exhilhomme scored Malden two points. Following that, Lynn Classical got a foul shot and two points, with them gaining three points total and a score of 39-30. A few minutes later, Lynn Classical gained four more points, with a score of 39-34. After that, Lynn Classical called a timeout.
Both teams were tired, but Lynn Classical was quick to catch up to Malden. 30 seconds later, Tolete scored with less than a minute left of the game, following a timeout called by Malden.
Malden had a strong defense with the last minute left of the game, making Lynn Classical unable to score. The game ended with a score of 41-34 and Malden winning against them, which was a huge moment for the team.
“Honestly, it was a huge wave of relief, and also, because we haven’t beat Lynn Classical at their gym in a long time, especially like in my years of playing basketball, so it was a nice win,” stated Tropnas.
Looking back, the players have found themselves to learn and reflect from the game. Tropnas further learned how to work together as a team: “I mean, we do have our own talents, but we can’t win games solo,” she said. She emphasized the importance of “working together more, building more team chemistry, and also keeping our heads up when we’re down, as well as lifting each other up at times” to succeed.
Antoine commented that she learned not to give up, “and if I make a mistake, learn from it and fix it on the next position.”
Ending with a great win of 41-34 against Lynn Classical, they sure are prepared to use this win to push forward for the rest of the season.
