SAUGUS — Sometimes, you have to win ugly.
That’s exactly what the Saugus girls basketball team did Tuesday night, scrapping its way to a 51-43 win over Everett in a non-conference game at John Towers Gymnasium.
“The word in the locker room was toughness,” said Saugus coach Mark Schruender. “Everett is a hard team to box out, they’re physical and they’re athletic. But I thought our kids were relentless in how we ran in transition and I thought we did a great job with pressuring the ball. It was a back-and-forth game, but luckily we were able to make enough plays.”
Molly Granara led the way for the Sachems with 16 points and six rebounds, while Jillian Ricupero scored 14 points. Taylor Bogdanski added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Kiley Ronan (five points, five rebounds) and Fallon Millerick (two points, six rebounds) also had solid games.
The close first quarter saw the two teams battling through three ties and four lead changes. Saugus was having trouble getting into an offensive rhythm in the early minutes, but Ricupero came off the bench and provided the ultimate spark. After coming into the game with the Sachems trailing 9-4, Ricupero exploded for 11 points over the final three minutes to give Saugus a 18-13 lead after one.
“She was terrific (Tuesday), and she’s been a catalyst for us all year,” Schruender said. “She comes off the bench, she starts, she does whatever we need. She’s a team-first player and a great captain, and when you have players like that, you can really go places.”
The second quarter was a different story, as both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net. Everett rallied to tie, 19-19, but the Sachems quickly took back the lead thanks to some strong play from Ronan. Despite that, Saugus only took a 24-21 lead into the halftime break.
The Sachems actually extended their lead to as many as eight points in the early part of the third quarter, but Everett never went away. After a late-quarter rally by Everett, things stood tied at 34 going into the final period.
The two teams continued to go back and forth in the early part of the fourth, but Saugus eventually gained a foothold. Behind strong performances from several players in the final minutes, particularly from Bogdanski, the Sachems were able to keep Everett at arm’s length until the final buzzer sounded.
“Credit to Tayor, she was super steady down the stretch,” said Schruender. “We also got great defense from people like Kiley (Ronan), Jess Nazzaro and Molly Granara were all making plays down the stretch for us.”
Saugus closes out the regular season at 16-4 and is looking at a high seed in the upcoming state tournament. But Schruender knows that the work has only just begun.
“It was great for us to get this win because momentum is big, but it’s a new season now,” said Schruender. “We’ve got to start fresh now, and we know that we’ve got to bring it every night.”
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected].