Wilmington in a three-way now in Middlesex League Freedom Division: ‘Cats win sixth straight with OT thriller over league leader Burlington -…

WILMINGTON The last time the Wilmington High Girls Basketball team squared off against Burlington, things could not have gone much worse, as the Wildcats suffered a 44-36 loss in their season opener on a night when they shot 12-for-57 from the field. The loss was the first of three straight to start the season for the Wildcats.

What a difference a few weeks makes!

On Tuesday night at the Lawrence H. Cushing Gymnasium the two teams renewed acquaintances for the first time since that rough opening night, and this time it was Wilmington who came out on top, winning a 58-50 thriller in overtime against their Middlesex League rivals.

Their 0-3 start is now a distant memory for the Wildcats, who have now won six in a row to improve to 6-3 on the season.

The win also puts Wilmington in a three-way tie for first place in the Middlesex League Freedom Division as the Cats, Burlington and Wakefield all have 6-3 league records. Burlington is now 9-3 overall with the loss.

The Wildcats were led by 17 points and five assists from senior captain Jenna Tavanese, while junior Kylie DuCharme had 15 points and 18 rebounds. They also got several clutch performances down the stretch, including a huge three pointer in the closing seconds by senior captain Olivia Almeida and clutch free throw shooting by DuCharme and junior Jenna Sweeney.

The Wildcats trailed 29-21 at the half and 41-39 at the end of the third. The teams then battled through a tough fourth quarter where they both struggled to find their shooting range. A pair of free throws by Sweeney with 2:48 left in the game gave the Wildcats a 43-42 lead, but Burlington responded with a pair of free throws of their own to take a 44-43 lead with 37.8 seconds left.

Down by one, and with the clock winding down Almeida stepped up with ice water in her veins and nailed a long three-pointer from the top of the key with 21.9 seconds left in the game to give the Wildcats a 46-44 lead. Burlington would not quit, however, as the Red Devils Sydney Pavao knocked down a clutch shot of her own with 12 seconds left to tie the game.

Wilmington had one last chance to win the game in regulation, but were unable to get a shot off and the teams headed to overtime deadlocked at 46.46. While they were unable to close it out in regulation, Wilmington coach Jessica Robinson still loved what she saw from Almeida in that clutch moment.

Olivia hit some big shots for us tonight, Robinson said. Those are the kind of shots where you are saying, no, no, no... ok, good shot! She likes to hit those big time shots. She is not afraid of taking those shots. We talked about it on the bench. Big time players make big time plays.

The Wildcats then went on to dominate the overtime period, scoring the first six points of the frame to take a 52-46 lead with 1:20 left when Almeida hit another clutch shot. And when Burlington tried fouling the Wildcats to stay in the game, Wilmington foiled their plan with clutch free throw shooting by DuCharme and Sweeney, who hit a combined six in a row down the stretch. The Wildcats were 8-for-8 overall from the line in overtime.

Earlier in the game we were struggling from the line, but we hit the free throws that counted, Robinson said.

In the early going of the game, it certainly didnt look like the Wildcats would need any clutch free throw shooting in overtime, as fell into an early 10-0 hole just three minutes into the game. But they didnt panic. Robinson called a timeout at that point and the team regrouped and went on to dominate the rest of the quarter, led by eight points from Tavanese, to take an 18-15 lead at the end of one.

That is where I have seen a marked improvement in the girls, is their ability to fight back, Robinson said. Being down and being able to rally together is something they have really improved on.

As great as that comeback was, for a while it appeared as if it was all for naught, as Burlington extended their lead to as many as nine points in the second quarter before settling or an eight point (29-21) lead at the half.

But the Wildcats fought back once again, taking a 34-32 lead midway through the third quarter, and trailing only 41-39 at the end of three. Their best stretch came midway through the quarter when Tavanese helped give them that 34-32 lead, taking them on an 8-0 run and scoring six of the points on her own.

The thrilling fourth quarter and overtime not only allowed the Wildcats to keep their winning streak alive, but it also showed just how far they have come since opening night.

We had a lot of coming together over winter break, Robinson said. It was been over a month and we spent our winter break figuring out what we need to do, and focusing on us. It is starting to pay off. The girls are playing confident and they are playing together and that is what we were lacking earlier in the season.

Prior to Tuesday nights big win, the Wildcats had picked up a 52-38 win on the road over Middlesex League rival Melrose last Friday night. Tavanese once again led the way offensively with 20 points and nine assists, while DuCharme had 14 points, 6 rebounds and seven blocks and Almeida had eight points and four steals.

Our defense carried us again in that one, Robinson said. We did a great job in our full court pressure. A lot of teams struggle against that. It slows down the game, and takes time off their offensive clock, and we have really done a good job recently of locking in on defense and letting that be our best offense.

The Wildcats will be back in action on Friday night when they host Wakefield in a huge game with a 5:15 tipoff.

See the rest here:

Wilmington in a three-way now in Middlesex League Freedom Division: 'Cats win sixth straight with OT thriller over league leader Burlington -...