Girls' Basketball Crushes New Hampton on Both Sides of the Ball

Exeter girls’ basketball has rebounded strongly from a disappointing 61-52 loss at Governor’s last Wednesday by winning two games this week.On Monday, Big Red defeated rival Andover 52-49 at home. After struggling in the first half and not playing as well the girls have been this season, they were able to pick up their intensity in the second half by taking care of the ball and capitalizing on their talent. The next night, due to rescheduling from winter storms, the team had a game versus New Hampton. The team’s motto this year is “Turn Up,” and Tuesday night they were able to turn up their play. They crushed the Huskies 58-34, making this victory their third biggest of the season.Contributions came across the board. “[Tuesday night] against New Hampton was the most complete game we’ve played all year. We kept our heads in it from the tip-off to the final buzzer,” upper Courtney Henrich said. “We all played well, as a unit.”One performer that stood out was prep Maya Blake. She was able to dominate the paint using her size and back to the basket scoring ability. She knew that New Hampton had tough interior players and realized that she had to step up her game to help her team win. “We made it a goal at the beginning to win the rebound battle against [New Hampton], seeing that that could be the key to really dominating the court,” Blake said.Big Red’s offense was not solely reliant on the inside game. Upper Yvonne Dean-Bailey showed her playmaking capabilities and had good shot selection throughout the game, hitting several three pointers. The team was also able to get out in transition, where they thrive, and score some easy buckets that way.On the other side of the ball, once again, Exeter’s defense was stifling. They came in giving up an average of 46.4 points per game and improved that number to 45.6 by only allowing 34 points to New Hampton. “We knew they had two bigs down low. Also that they suffer against a 2-3 zone. We played 2-3 the whole game,” senior Nicole Heavirland said. Senior Susannah Gray and lower Peace Kabari both had large impacts on the defensive end by disrupting the Huskies’ offense with quick rotations and active hands in the passing lanes.Coming off two straight wins this week, the team still has two more games before Sunday. They play Marianapolis Prep at 4:45 on Friday and have a 2:30 matinee against Worcester. Both games are at home.After struggling against Governor’s and Andover and playing four games within six days, the team still seems confident and does not worry about any fatigue. “With two wins under our belt already this week, we need to continue executing our offense and ‘turning up’ on defense,” Henrich said. “As long as we keep positive and humble, we’ll deliver all that we’re capable of.”