WESTBOROUGH – A neck-and-neck first half gave way to a dominant third and fourth quarter for the Westborough High School girls basketball team on Saturday as they beat the visiting Marlborough Panthers 68-33.
The first half, indeed, saw momentum swing back and forth between Marlborough and Westborough.
The teams were separated by just one point at the end of the first quarter.
Westborough briefly opened a larger lead in the second quarter. But the Panthers clawed their way back, narrowing their deficit to 28-21 by the time the buzzer sounded.
“We had kind of a quick run in the last two minutes of the half,” Westborough Head Coach Liz Orlando told the Community Advocate after the win.
Though they had the lead, the Rangers discussed defensive adjustments during halftime, Orlando said.
Marlborough had scored 12 of its 21 first half points on three point shots.
“So, we were definitely just game planning to focus on taking that away from them and just keep pressuring some of the guards,” Orlando said.
Westborough executed that plan in the third and fourth quarters, limiting the Panthers to just one three point basket through the rest of the game.
Locking down on defense, Westborough’s offense padded their lead, outscoring Marlborough 23-4 in the third quarter on their way to their eventual victory.
“We came out with our press,” Orlando said of her team’s third quarter performance. “We got some quick points in transition and kind of took away their three point shot in the second half there.”
“It was a good transition just out of halftime to get that,” she continued.
Anna Finnerty led the Rangers in individual scoring against Marlborough with 15 points.
She was followed by Rachel Carpenter, whose four second half three pointers gave her 12 points.
Aubrey Tunnera led the Panthers in individual scoring in the loss with 15 points.
Liz Johnson also cracked double digits on the scoresheet with 10 points.
The loss continues a difficult season for Marlborough whose win-loss record now sits at 0-6.
Westborough, meanwhile, has been dominant this winter, improving its record to 6-0 with its win.
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