Gloucester girls basketball wins home opener

Gloucester girl’s basketball walked away with a win in their first game of the season against Lynnfield on Friday night. In a hard-fought game, the Fishermen triumphed over the Pioneers 33-29. 

“This is my first time actually winning at the start of the season in three years,” Senior captain La’Neisha Jenkins said. “You know the team did really good. We worked as a team, like the same team as last year but better.”

The first quarter was back and forth between the two teams. Gloucester had the most points of the night, made in this quarter. Richardson put up 8 points. The first period finished Gloucester down 14-16. 

Gloucester stepped it up in the second quarter. The Fishermen’s defense held the Pioneers off from scoring the rest of the half, minus one free throw with seconds left. Lynnfield played aggressive defense and won most of the rebounds. Gloucester’s offense struggled to get their shots into the basket but brought intensity. The Fishermen managed to take over the scoreboard to finish the half, 21-19. 

GHS carried the energy into the third quarter. The Fishermen had their best performance of the night this period. Lynnfield had a quick run controlling the play but Gloucester’s defense held the Pioneers to only two baskets. Gloucester held strong and got a lot of shots and points this quarter. Lynnfield started to pick up the aggression and fouled GHS a lot. The Fishermen kept their lead, adding to the score 30-23.

Lynnfield had a better fourth quarter. They stepped it up and gave Gloucester a good fight. Gloucester only scored three points, but they played aggressively. The Fishermen fought hard to finish the game with a 33-29 win. 

“It was a great win for us,” Coach Tommy McDonald said “The girls were definitely nervous, you know. But we got stops when we needed them. I told the girls we needed to hold them under 30 points and we did and it was a really good win at home to start the season. It was good for them to keep building on the success we had on Tuesday. We built on it and we got a great win at home.”

Richardson and Junior Lexi Carollo had a great night at the net. Richardson put up 11 pts and Carollo 9 pts. Junior Isabelle Stauffer led the GHS defense and was a key factor in Friday night’s win.

Senior captain Adelyn Richardson said, “This was a great way to start the season.” 

The Fishermen start the season 1-0. Gloucester will be battling it out at home tonight at 6:00 pm against Danvers High School.