LYNN — The Classical girls basketball team put forth a stern defensive effort Thursday night, knocking off Malden, 66-25, in a non-conference battle at home. The Rams notched more than 20 steals overall in the win, setting up a number of transition baskets.
“I liked the way we came out and played,” said Classical coach Tom Sawyer. “We were really competitive on the defensive end and it led to plenty of chances on offense as well. It was a great all-around game for us.”
Sajada Dean had a big night for the Rams, scoring a career-high 17 points and adding five rebounds and six steals. Jean Gupton-Morrison had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven steals, while Ava Thurman had seven points, three rebounds and two steals. Amber Crayton added six points and three steals, while Molly Mannion had four points and five rebounds.
“We basically have a 10-person rotation, and we like to play a lot of girls,” said Sawyer. “If we feel like they’re ready for the varsity level, they’ll get minutes. Luckily for us, we got contributions from everyone (Thursday).”
The real key to the win was Classical’s defensive effort. The Rams employed a full-court press defense for much of the game, forcing a number of Malden turnovers.
“These are things we’ve been working on all season in practice, and tonight it really came together,” Sawyer said of the defensive effort.
The Rams opened the game on a hot streak, grabbing a 13-2 lead in the early minutes. Classical eventually extended that lead to 14 points by the end of the first quarter, 17-3.
In the second quarter, behind huge efforts from Dean and Gupton-Morrison, the Rams took over and ran away with the game. Classical went through a stretch where it notched a steal on nearly every possession in a 3-minute span, getting a number of transition baskets and earning a number of trips to the foul line.
By the time the half ended, Classical was ahead 39-9.
The Rams continued to stretch their lead in the second half, leading by as many as 35 points. Sawyer was also able to play a number of players from further down the roster, allowing some of his starters to rest for extra minutes.
“We have a few girls who have played a lot of minutes this year, so to be able to give them a bit of a break is big,” said Sawyer.
The Rams now stand at 6-8 on the season, and the state tournament is not out of sight. Sawyer knows his team has to buckle down over the final few weeks of the season to earn a spot in the postseason.
“It really is the old cliche of ‘one game at a time’,” Sawyer said. “It’s not over until you lose the eleventh game, so we’ve just got to keep working and keep trying to pile up wins.”
Next up for Classical is a home game against Saugus Friday night (7).
“It’s going to be a tough one, Saugus is a great team and a tough matchup,” said Sawyer. “Hopefully we can take some of the momentum from this win and bring it into Friday.”