The Gardner Wildcats edged out the Bromfield girls basketball team, 47-43, in a closely matched game at Gardner High School on Jan. 18.
Senior Bea Wig tries to get past her opponent in a game against Saint Peter Marian in December.(Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Freshman Chloe Scornavacca led the charge for the Trojans with 17 points in total. According to Coach Bob Miller, she “supplied most of the offense” and scored “every which way.” Additionally, senior Bryn Pierce, sophomore Izzy Katter, and freshman Tallie Dutkewych combined forces to limit opportunities for Gardner’s leading scorer this season, senior Rebecca Lashua.
Scornavacca set the game off on the right foot with the first basket, followed by a deep 3-pointer by junior Callie Frackiewicz. The Trojans accumulated an early 5-0 lead, but by the end of the period, Gardner pulled ahead, 10-6.
In the second period, junior Romy Hermans suffered a lower body injury that forced her to leave the game early. At this point, the teams were tied at 19 points. Frackiewicz scored a 3-point buzzer beater right before the end of the first half, sending the Trojans into halftime with a 22-19 lead. Scornavacca said this shot was exciting for the team because “being up by just a few points made us want to work hard and continue playing well as a unit.”
“The second half was nip and tuck, with neither team leading by more than 6 points,” said Miller. With strong offense from Scornavacca and equal defense from senior Beatrice Wig, the Trojans were able to stay close to the Wildcats, although the third period ended with the Trojans trailing 34-31.
Ultimately, Gardner won in the last moments of the game. Barely holding onto a 1-point lead, the Wildcats finished it off by scoring three out of four foul shots in the remaining seconds, ending the game 47-43. Miller said it was “an excellent game that was close from tip-off to final buzzer.”
Scornavacca said, “It got really intense in the end with points being scored for both teams as the time on the clock went down. But I realized that no matter if we came out with the win or not, it was definitely one of the best games we played as a team.”
The Trojans were scheduled to play Tyngsborough next at Bromfield on Tuesday, Jan. 22, and Narragansett on Friday, Jan. 25.
Charlotte Foley is a Bromfield sophomore.
