DeLeire leads Lady Eagles basketball team past Chelsea in season finale

By Emily Brennan

Mystic Valley girls’ basketball earned a 48-25 win in the final game of the regular season at the Eastern Avenue Gymnasium on Monday, February 19. The night started with a ceremony to honor all the seniors: Aya Abbassi, Breana Nansamba, Inssaf Machouk, Thaila Jean-Baptiste and Sophie Lebrun.

Bailey DeLeire scored a game-high 13 points, while Breana Nansamba notched 10 points and 7 rebounds as the Eagles picked up their 14^th win. Sylvie LaFeber finished with 10 points and 2 rebounds. Aya Abbassi contributed 6 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.

The Eagles were outscored by Chelsea in the first minute of play, but they were shortly plagued by turnovers and poor rebounding and managed to outscore them 11-8 in the opening frame. That three-point Eagles advantage turned into a Chelsea seven-point deficit after two frames thanks to Sylvie LaFeber with 7 points and Nansamba with a 3-pointer. Through the third frame, the Eagles paced Chelsea and came away with a very comfortable, 20-point lead. Abby Ssewankambo and Anna Luiza-Batista opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back buckets to give Mystic Valley the lead and victory at 48-25.

The Eagles compiled a record of 14-6 throughout the regular season to earn a spot in the Division 4 MIAA tournament. They are the #34 seed.