Groton Dunstable Travel Basketball
December 20, 2015
Press Release
G4/5
The fourth- and fifth-grade girls secured their first win of the season, 21-17 over Acton-Boxorough. The girls jumped out to an early lead, thanks to early baskets from Mia Trawick, and never looked back. The second half was highlighted by stellar defense and strong rebounding from Emerson McAdam and Reagan Gilmore.
B4/5
The fourth- and fifth-grade boys lost a tough game to Fitchburg 20-16. G-D was up 10-5 at the half, but foul trouble hurt late in the game. Kevin Broderick and Cooper Granville led G-D scorers with four each. Connor Buchman and Ryan Hamill were strong off the boards while Casey Trimper and Theo Murphy played tough defense and added two points apiece.
B5
The fifth-grade boys won its third straight overtime game to improve its reacord to 3-1 this season with a hard fought 41-37 victory at Wachusett. The man of the match was Nate Bushnell who was on fire all night long with 12 huge points for the G-D. He was perfect from the line and added a three pointer, scoring in a cariety of ways in both halves. Will Vogel, Wes Garibotto and Evan Laudenslager had solid performances and some key baskets, and Andrew Stenstream added a number of big free throws to seal the victory in overtime. G-D is off for the next couple of weeks and will return to action in 2016.
B6
The sixth-grade boys were victorious over Nashoba, 38-32. The boys played their strongest defensive game ever, including successfully pressing, which resulted in a few turnovers. Both Chris Smith and Josh Dai had exceptional games, with Chris scoring 16 and Josh scoring 10. There were numerous rebounds by several kids, and six of the nine players scored, including Jem Booth’s first field goal as a travel player.
G7
Transition offense was the name of the game for the seventh-grade girls in their win over Winchendon. G-D scored 43 points (their most yet this season), largely generated by aggressive defense leading to breakaway baskets. Emily Hutchins (six points) energized G-D early, scoring the first four points of the game and nabbing several early rebounds. Katie Eberhardt had another standout game and nearly nabbed a triple double, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and eight steals. Ali Vogel logged impressive numbers of her own (seven points, eight rebounds and six steals). Caroline Straw (five points) and Olivia Shusta (seven points) also looked strong offensively. Sierra Wynn, Amanda Lacombe, Maddie Dondero, Aine Murphy and Kyleigh McDonald rounded out the offense by adding two points each. When all the scoring was complete, G-D won handily 43-14.
B7
The seventh-grade boys beat the Acton-Boxboro Gold team 49-44 on the road this week. he G-D offense made an explosive start and worked well together with scores spread across many players. High scorers were Jack Barry for 15 points, Brandon Wiercinski for 13, Kyle Plausse for seven and Riley Curran for six. A-B gained some ground during the first half, but G-D maintained its focus and delivered a strong defense in the second half. Wiercinski held A-B’s strongest player to minimal points and G-D took total control of the last six minutes of the game to seal the win.
As the B7s enter the winter break, most of the team will participate once again in the Fundamental Hoops holiday tournament.
G8
The eighth-grade girls won a very tough battle in a crossover game against Melrose from the MetroWest league. Despite a sluggish performance on the offensive end, the girls kept themselves in the game early through their tough defense. Inconsistent offense by both teams resulted in a low scoring 15-13 halftime lead for the G8s.
It took the first four minutes of the 3rd quarter for the G8s to finally catch fire. With the score knotted at 19, the G-D went on a 12-2 run initiated by a strong press defense. Precision passing and unselfish play allowed the girls to finish with a 37-25 win. Emma Wilson paced the G8s with 11 points and three steals. Molly Braley chipped in with four points, six rebounds and multiple hustle points while diving for loose balls. Bronwyn Mulligan (seven points), Rachel Erickson (five points), Cate Bolton (four points) were also strong contributors. The "tough as nails" award goes to Abby Eisenklam this week, as she pulled down eight rebounds and registered three blocks, showing tough interior play. The G8s are now 8-0 overall, 4-0 in league play, and looking forward to competing in next week's Christmas Tournament in Lowell.
B8
Undefeated in the league, the eighth-grade boys made the trip to Maynard to take on a solid Tigers squad. After another fast start building a 17-point lead, the Tigers cut the lead to eight by half, 36-28. For the first few minutes of the second half, the game was in the balance, Maynard cutting it to six. A 20-5 run at that point by G-D was the difference where defensive pressure led to transition opportunities, resulting in 74-46 final. Once again, G-D's outside shooting was on display throughout the game. For the third game in the row, Tyler Peck hit for five or more three pointers, tallying 27 points in the game on a variety of offensive moves. The team welcomed back Joe O'Malley back from injury. He poured in 17 and was disruptive on the defensive end. Elias Jiser had an outstanding game as well, scoring 15. Tim Stark was a force on both ends and contributed eight points. Colin teDuits and Sam Smethurst made a significant impact with their hustle and rebounding, a key to the victory.
