Improving girls' hoop
team wins 2 in a row
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
After a brutal
0-7 stretch that included five straight away games to open the
season, the CHS girls’ varsity basketball team finally found its
groove last week with two impressive road victories: 64-56 over
non-league Bedford and 76-61 over Hockomock opponent King
Philip.
Head coach
Kaitlin Mills could not have been happier with her team’s
performance in both contests, as the Bulldogs clamped down on
defense while greatly stepping up their offensive output. They
also played outstanding team basketball, particularly on the
offensive end where numerous players finished in double figures.
On Wednesday
at Bedford, Canton relied on its strong inside game to power its
way to an early 10-point advantage, led by senior center Erika
Bornemann (18 points, 15 rebounds, 8 blocks) and sophomore
forward Olivia Murphy (11 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks).
Bedford came
back to tie the game late in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs
regained control in the fourth with what Mills described as an
“aggressive man to man defense,” while sophomore point guard
Alana Pitts-Anaya made four clutch free throws with under a
minute left to seal the victory.
Pitts-Anaya
and fellow guard Nicki Fralick finished with 12 points apiece,
and Mills said both players did a great job handling the Bedford
press in the second half. Fralick also had five assists and four
steals, while senior forward Elana Willinsky chipped in with 11
points, including eight in the second half.
On Friday,
Canton traveled to King Philip and the game unfolded in a
similar fashion, with the Bulldogs dominating the paint early
behind Bornemann and Murphy and then overcoming the opponent’s
full-court press with excellent guard play from Fralick and
Pitts-Anaya.
All four
finished in double figures, led by Fralick, who had a
season-high 25 points (17 in the second half) to go along with
five assists. Pitts-Anaya finished with 16 points, while
Bornemann and Murphy nearly duplicated their stat lines from
Wednesday, combining for 29 points, 24 rebounds and 10 blocks.
“We are
beginning to show a lot of improvement both defensively and
offensively,” Mills said following her team’s second win in as
many games. “Basketball is a team sport, and I couldn’t ask for
anything more from our players. They work hard day in, day out,
and give 100 percent each game. But most importantly, they are
playing together as a team.”
Having played
seven of their first nine games on the road, the Bulldogs (2-7)
will now begin a stretch of five straight home games, including
two this week against fourth-place Mansfield (6-4) and
fifth-place Sharon (5-4). Canton will then close out the
homestand with three games next week against the top three teams
in the Hock: Franklin (8-3), Oliver Ames (9-1) and Foxboro
(9-1).
January 21, 2010
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