Jessica Coelho ‘12 fights to keep a hand on the ball, just barely making it past two defenders. She passes it to Erica Stein ‘13, who gets it to Sydney Houseworth ‘12, through the arms of an opponent. Houseworth, with both hands on the ball, goes up for the layup and scores, putting Staples into the lead by just one point.
This was a common play for the Lady Wreckers, who currently hold 9 wins and 5 losses, as they played the Wilton Warriors on Tues., Jan. 31. The game was evenly matched and highly competitive.
Pulling out a win put the Lady Wreckers back into the spotlight. “This win puts us back into the mix for the county tournament (FCIAC’s), and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Coach Ed Huydic.
The final score of the game was 53-48, but it was a close game until the very end. In the first quarter, the Wreckers were behind 7-12. In the second quarter, the Wreckers scored 15 points, holding the Warriors to 14 points. The score at the end of the first half was 22-26, Wilton.
Although Stein believes that the beginning of the game was “a little rough,” she knows that the team hustled a lot and really picked up their game for the end. Tough defense was eminent in the third and fourth quarters as the Wreckers dominated the court, scoring a total of 31 points in the second half.
Top scorers throughout the game included Coelho with 21 points, Stein with 10 points, Nikki Bukovsky ‘13 with 9 points, and Remy Nolan ‘12 with 7 points.
Coelho attributes her shooting momentum during the Wilton game to a strong drive to pick her team up. The Lady Wreckers were coming off three losses on Tuesday. “I knew that I had to step up on this game, shooting wise. I knew that I needed to focus on that,” said Coelho.
Both Coelho and Huydic agreed that everyone contributed down the home stretch. “We all played well, played hard, and played as a team,” said Coelho.
“In the end, my girls had a stronger will and bigger heart,” said Huydic.
This Friday, Feb. 3, the Lady Wreckers play the Westhill Vikings, a dominant team this season, partially due to Alexa D’Alessandro, who has been averaging 20 points a game.
The game is at 7 p.m. in the Staples gym. It is the Lady Wreckers’ senior day and they ask for support from their fans.
