Warriors press out a victory

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Joe Marchilena photo Wilton-Lyndeborough's Andrea Heck tries to grab a rebound over Epping's Lauren Haley during Monday's game.

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Joe Marchilena photo Wilton-Lyndeborough's Margaret Weigle looks for an open teammate during Monday's game against Epping.

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Joe Marchilena photo Wilton-Lyndeborough's Sami Bosquet tries to get past Epping's Brittney Bullock during Monday's game.

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Joe Marchilena photo Wilton-Lyndeborough's Andrea Heck tries to grab a rebound over Epping's Lauren Haley during Monday's game.

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WILTON – It was a slow start for the Wilton-Lyndeborough High School girls basketball team Monday night against Epping, but by the end, the Warriors were playing their best.

W-L fell behind early, but took the lead just before halftime and dominated the second half of a 38-20 win over the Blue Devils. The Warriors continuously pressed, but the defense seemed most effective in the final two quarters, including a fourth quarter in which W-L held Epping scoreless.

“I think our defense played pretty well,” Warriors coach Denny Claire said. “We just covered the middle better. Our pressure was pretty effective. It slowed them down and forced them to turn the ball over.”

The Warriors forced the Blue Devils into 20 turnovers, including 13 in the second half. A lot of those miscues led to breakaway chances at the other end, and while W-L didn’t always get the shots to fall, the Warriors collected several offense boards.

Sami Bosquet and Deanna Davidson each had 10 points to lead the Warriors (5-6 in Division IV) while Kelsey Randlett (seven points) and Andrea Heck (six) both came off the bench to combine for 13 points.

Carleigh Baer led Epping (1-11) with eight points.

Baer helped the Blue Devils take an early lead, as her layup in the first quarter gave Epping a four-point lead. A 3-pointer by Stephanie Foster later in the first put the Blue Devils up 11-6, and that’s where the score stood after eight minutes.

Epping stretched the lead to six on a basket by Foster, but after Claire made several substitutions, the Warriors regrouped. W-L outscored Epping 9-1 over the rest of the half to take a 16-14 lead into halftime.

“The first group struggled a little bit,” Claire said. “We usually go to Jennica Martin (who was out with illness) right off the bat. It was all the young kids.”

The starters were able to keep things going in the second half. Epping tied the game at 18 early in the third quarter, but back-to-back layups by Davidson and Bosquet put the Warriors back up four.

W-L lead by eight going into the fourth, and two quick layups by Heck made it a 12-point game, and the Warriors cruised from there, as Epping scored just two points over the final 14 minutes.

After starting the season with seven straight road games, the Warriors have won five of their last six games and will play five of their seven remaining games at home. Now that the players are midway through the season, Claire is expecting them to be more competitive.

“We’ve got a young team,” he said. “We’ve got to win these games and get somewhat in the middle of the pack. We’ve got some real tough ones coming up. If I can get these girls healthy, I think we can battle.”

The Warriors were scheduled to host Portsmouth Christian on Wednesday before playing Pittsfield at 5 p.m. on Friday.

That game is part of a boys-girls varsity doubleheader which will feature the unveiling of the boys soccer championship banner at halftime of the second game.