4TH IN A ROW! Girls Basketball sets new Malden High record for State Tourney berths

Coach Marino’s Tornados win 5-of-6 down stretch; Clutch ‘W’ over Lynn English (44-35) clinches States

By Steve Freker

There’s been a whole bunch of “uncharted territory” for head coach Scott Marino’s Girls Basketball team this winter.

But as long as they reached the destination they sought, all the uncertainty and doses of anxiety all get washed away.

That is because for an unprecedented 4th consecutive season, Malden High is headed to the MIAA Division 1 State Girls Basketball Tournament.

Tornado teams in the past have made it two years in a row on a couple of occasions. Last year’s Marino-led 2023-2024 squad made it for a third year in a row, another Malden High “first”.  But this year’s squad, led by senior tri-captains Amanda Ebenezer, Ina Tolete and Kim Tropnas went one step further: Another state tourney berth.

“We have several goals we make in the preseason and qualifying for the State Tournament is one of the biggest ones,” Coach Marino said. “It is always a big accomplishment to move on and play in the postseason and this group deserves a lot of credit in the way we have played in the second half of the season.

“It did not look great when  we were sitting with just 4 wins with 9 games left to play, but we hung in there and got the job done,” Coach Marino added.

The Malden seniors (Ebenezer, Tolete and Tropnas) have now made it to postseason play in all four years as MHS basketball players.

Malden came all the way back from a midseason slide, which found the Tornados at 4-7, to win 4 straight games and  make it to 8-7. The team needed at least 2 victories in their final 4 games to qualify for the MIAA State Girls Basketball Tournament for an unprecedented 4th consecutive season.

Facing what may have been the most jam-packed schedule in history as well, four games in one week, last week, in FIVE days, Malden started with what Marino called a “gigantic” win on Feb. 11. (See separate story)  

   On Senior Night February 13, Malden dropped a close game to visiting Somerville to drop to an even 8-8. That did not deter the Tornados one bit, however.

Wins on back-to-back nights this past Friday (over Salem) and Saturday (44-35 over Lynn English)— both on the road — sealed the deal for Malden, as its win-total hit the magic “10” as the Tornados improved to 10-8 overall.
The tourney-clinching win over the Lynn English Lady Bulldogs was especially satisfying since Malden dropped a close one, 61-56, earlier this season at home.

Two more games over February Vacation Break

Malden’s busy stretch continued into this February Vacation Break (February 17-23) with a pair of home games.
On Monday, President’s Day, February 17, Malden fell to visiting non-leaguer Burlington, 61-51.
Malden Girls Basketball concluded the regular season at home yesterday, Thursday, February 20 when the Tornados hosted non-leaguer Beverly (6-11) at 6:00 p.m. after Advocate press deadline.

Malden Girls Basketball Earns  Big Win Over Lowell, 37-32;
Ebenezer (16 pts), Exilhomme (11 rebounds) lead way

By Steve Freker 

There are “big” wins, there are “huge” wins and there are also “monster” wins.
Much-needed “must wins” come in other sizes, too.
Anyone eavesdropping on Malden High head coach Scott Marino’s postgame huddle after his Tornado girls toughed out a victory over visiting Lowell High last Tuesday night can attest to that.
“You probably don’t all realize this yet,” Coach Marino told the squad immediately after the game on February 11, “but this was a gigantic win! Gigantic!”
Rightly so. With Malden girls prevailing in a 37-32 win over visiting Lowell. It was also Malden’s 4th straight win after a midseason slide saw the Blue and Gold girls dip to 4-7 overall.
:”We needed a strong showing when we really needed it and we got it tonight,” Coach Marino assessed.
The game was essentially a “Tale of Two Halves”… plus a “Heisman”.
Malden, whose mascot, “NEDLAM,” is indeed a lion, roared out to a 25-11 lead at halftime, behind the scoring of senior captain of 6-1 senior captain Amanda Ebenezer, who led the gym with 16 points for the evening, 11 points coming in the first half.
Then came the second half. If visiting Lowell was sleepwalking in the first half, it was Malden’s turn to take a nap in the second.
Lowell woke up bigtime in the third quarter while Malden snoozed, outscoring the hosts, 12-4 and making it a lot closer, trailing by just two possessions, 29-23, heading into the final period. Malden managed just two buckets — one each by Ebenezer and senior Kimberly Tropnas— as Lowell surged to turn a potential blowout into a nailbiter.
While Lowell kept coming hard in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 29-29 with 3:11 to play, the Raiders never managed to take the lead, due to some continued board pounding by Ebenezer and a clutch one-step layup after an offensive rebound by Exilhomme to give Malden a 31-29 lead it would never relinquish with 2:47 to play in the game.
Ebenezer, though her scoring dipped in the second half, kept it up with her defense and rebounding right down to the final buzzer.
On one crucial play, with Malden clinging to the 31-29 lead and the clock showing just under 2 minutes to play, Ebenezer blocked the shot of Lowell’s high scorer Quinn McDonald and the ball bounced out to the right sideline.
Lowell’s Alexis Velezquez appeared ready to save it from going out of bounds and secure the ball, but Malden’s Ebenezer stayed with the play by diving for the loose ball, twisting in midair and tipping it ahead to teammate Ina Tolete, who dribbled it downcourt and passed to Tropnas.
Tropnas shot, missed, Exilhomme grabbed another offensive rebound and after a miss herself, rebounded again and put perhaps the biggest Malden basket of  the night off the glass and in for her second field goal of the quarter, extending Malden’s lead to 33-29. Lowell would never get any closer.
For the night, Ebenezer led all scorers with 16 points for Malde, to go along with 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Exilhomme had 8 points and 11 rebounds. Ina Tolete scored two huge three-pointers for 6 points all together for the game, one each in the first two quarters. Kim Tropnas scored 4 points and Olivia Rodrigues scored 2 points,

CAPTIONS:

Amanda Ebenezer, Malden High senior captain, led all scorers with 16 points in the win over Lowell. (Advocate Photos)

BIG SHOT— Manicha Exilhomme (20) puts up a shot which gave Malden a secure lead over Lowell at 33-29 with just over a minute to play in Tuesday’s win. (Advocate Photos)

Victory is theirs as Malden High Head Coach Scott Marino huddles with players after a big win over Lowell.