WHS girls’ basketball hold off Edward Little in back-to-back games

By Matt Pascarella

Windham varsity and junior varsity girls’ basketball teams played Edward Little on Thursday, Dec. 22 in homes games where once Windham took the lead, they kept it and made it impossible for the Eddies to catch up.

Windham senior Elizabeth Levesque heads to the basket
during a girls' varsity basketball game against Edward
Little High School on Thursday, Dec. 22 at Windham
High School. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

In the varsity game, EL tied the score early on. Windham pulled ahead, and EL was not able to catch up, with Windham posting a 50-32 win.

Windham’s JV team took the lead early and Lady Eagle defense kept Edward Little to a single digit score for almost the entire game. Windham won 43-14.

Varsity

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight coming into tonight,” said Windham girls’ varsity basketball coach Brody Artes. “That’s the way Edward Little plays, high intensity, lot of pressure in the full court. We had to be composed, we had to be organized; I thought the kids came out and matched that intensity and did very well.”

Windham went hard after the ball. They had a small lead, and soon Edward Little tied the game at six. From that point on, Windham offense and defense held back EL as the Lady Eagle’s lead grew.

Artes said defense was good especially in the first half; the team had full court pressure. EL couldn’t get into anything offensively and that generated offense for Windham. Any turnover Windham got they tried to convert into an offensive bucket.

Windham led 23-10 at halftime.

In the second half, Windham defense remained strong, grabbing several turnovers to increase their lead.

Windham has been working on transitions, so anytime a team presses them, they have that opportunity in advantage situations to score, if they don’t, they pull it back and run their offense.

“I think our team chemistry always plays a huge factor with how the game turns out,” said Windham sophomore Stella Jarvais who put up 21 points. “We all knew coming into the game tonight that it was going to be physical and as a team we knew we had to hustle and work together which showed. I think our defensive intensity has been great as a whole. I was very proud of all of us.”

Junior Varsity

Windham began with excellent passing and pressured early. They quickly pulled away and defense kept EL scoreless the entire first quarter. Windham freshman Nealie Morey sunk a three-pointer.

Windham got several turnovers to increase their lead. Their intensity never declined. At the half Windham led 23-4.

“We work together really well,” said Windham freshman Kendra Eubanks, who scored 17 points. “We played really good defense, and we did really good on shooting and boxing out.”

In the second half, Windham increased their lead and capitalized on any EL mistakes. They snagged rebounds and did not let up until the final buzzer.

Windham girls’ JV basketball coach Gretchen Anderson said it’s the work they’re putting in at practice that led to such a big win. They push each other as teammates. The defensive intensity led to their offense. They set out to make defense their first priority and offense spilled into that. Also, being great teammates on the court and from the bench made a difference.<