A staunch defense and a balanced scoring attack ups Brockton's record to 7-2 on the season, 2-0 in the Big Three.
BROCKTON – It was an open-and-shut case at the Staff Gymnasium on Friday night.
It was the Durfee High School girls basketball team’s Big Three opener – and the Brockton Boxers shut the Hilltoppers down.
With senior Jade Wint leading a balanced scoring attack with a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) in less than three quarters of play, the Boxers improved to 7-2 overall, 2-0 in the Big Three, with a 67-28 rout of the Hilltoppers, who fell to 1-7 on the season (0-1 in the Big Three).
Sophomore Keanari King, junior Antoinette Okoh and senior Anaily Lorenzo had nine points each for Brockton, while junior Angelina Fernandes pulled down 10 rebounds and scored eight points.
Meanwhile, junior Elizabeth Williams did a bit of everything for the Boxers – 11 rebounds, seven assists, four steals, three blocked shots and two points.
“We were moving the ball real well,” Brockton coach Chris Connolly said. “Elizabeth had 10 rebounds and five assists in the first half and really got our offense and defense going. At halftime, she was drawing up plays. She did it all.”
The Boxers held the Hilltoppers to single digits in each of the first three quarters before surrendering 10 in the fourth.
“Our press begins with ball pressure,” Connolly said in speaking of the key to the Brockton defense. “(Senior) Jaila Smith and Keanari King pressure the ball up front and that takes teams out of being able to run their offense against us. Teams can’t get into their set offense.”
After falling behind 2-0 and 4-2, Brockton scored the last nine points of the first quarter to take an 11-4 lead after one and never looked back.
Freshman Alexandra Williams triggered that burst with a scoop shot followed by a dish-off to King for a basket inside and Lorenzo came off the bench to end the quarter with a 3-pointer, her first of three on the night.
Fernandes opened the second quarter with a bucket inside to push the run to 11 points and the lead to 13-4 before senior Crystal Diaz finally answered with a pair of free throws for Durfee.
With more than five minutes to play in the half the lead reached double figures, 20-9, when Wint (eight points in the second quarter) scored on a spin move into the lane after following up her own miss for a basket.
Another basket by Wint and one by King upped the surge to 9-0 and the score to 24-9 before Durfee freshman Mackenzie Carreiro scored a fast-break layup off a feed from senior Atiya Rivera.
Six more points by the Boxers, a stretch sophomore Naylani Monteiro capped off with a trey stretched the run to 15-2 before two foul shots by Rivera made it 30-13 at the break.
Picking up right where she left off, Wint sandwiched Brockton’s first two hoops of the second half around a 3-pointer by Diaz down the other end, then junior Elizabeth Williams scored inside, Wint found Alexandra Williams in the lane for a basket, King hit from the outside and Monteiro scored to make it 42-18.
Continuing to expand of their lead, the Boxers were up 31 (49-18) after three as they closed out the quarter with Lorenzo’s second 3-pointers and a pair of hoops by Fernandes.