Rusty Mallards Fall to Sabres, 40-14

Rusty Mallards Fall to Sabres, 40-14
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BERLIN- Worcester Prep’s girls’ varsity showed some of the ill effects of a long layoff in their first game in over a month on Tuesday, falling to visiting Saints Peter and Paul, 40-14, on Tuesday.

The Mallards were definitely rusty as they took the court against the Sabres on Tuesday in their first game since a 29-28 win over Gunston way back on January 15. A combination of scheduled winter breaks followed by back-to-back-to back snowstorms kept Worcester off the court for real competition for over a month before Tuesday’s game, which was only the Mallards’ fourth since the middle of December.

Saints Peter and Paul wasted no time jumping out to an early lead, scoring the first 10 points of the game to take a 10-0 lead about half way through the first quarter. Worcester responded with a mini-run of its own, however. Sara Noyes got the Mallards on the board with a put-back after a rebound to break the ice for Worcester and cut the lead to 10-2 at the 4:30 mark in the first.

Less than a minute later, Worcester’s Claire Brown hit a short jumper in the paint to cut the lead to 10-4, and Brown scored again at the two-minute mark in the first to complete the 6-0 run for the Mallards to cut the lead to 10-6, but that was as close as they would get. After a pair of Sabres’ free throws pushed the lead to 12-6, Saints Peter and Paul scored on a put-back as the first quarter expired to extend the lead to 14-6.

Saints Peter and Paul picked up where they left off in the second quarter, scoring the first six points in the period to extend its lead to 20-6. Meanwhile, the Sabres’ pressure defense forced several turnovers and Worcester went for a long stretch without getting a look at the basket. Worcester’s Molly Marshall hit a jumper at the 3:40 mark in the second quarter to end the drought and cut the Sabres’ lead to 20-8. However, Saints Peter and Paul scored the last six points in the second quarter and took a 26-8 lead into intermission.

In the third quarter, neither team had much success putting the ball in the basket although Saints Peter and Paul did extend its lead. The Sabres went up 32-8 while Worcester continued to struggle on offense. The Mallards continued to play hard throughout the contest, but could not seem to shake off the rust of the long layoff.

Ellie Brown converted the second of two free throws at the 1:47 mark of the third quarter for Worcester’s first point since just about midway through the second quarter. Saints Peter and Paul built its lead to 40-10 before Worcester came alive with a couple of late baskets by Kayla Baier and Molly Marshall as time expired to cut the final lead to 40-14.