Lady Eagles Basketball Team Outlasts Notre Dame Academy

By Emily Brennan

The Mystic Valley girls’ basketball team secured a win on Wednesday afternoon, outlasting Notre Dame Academy, 41-21, in the Eastern Avenue Gymnasium. Mystic Valley was led by captains Breana Nansamba and Aya Abbassi, who scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the win. Bailey DeLeire finished with 7 points and 5 steals. Abby Ssewankambo and Sylvie DeLeire both added 4 points.

The Eagles fell behind early in the game. After Notre Dame stretched the lead to 7 to make the score 2-7, a couple of buckets from Ssewankambo and Nansamba helped the Eagles go on an 8-0 run and give them the lead. By the end of the quarter, Mystic Valley led 12-7.

Mystic Valley used their momentum from the end of the first quarter to propel them through the second. The Eagles scored 17 more points in the second quarter, allowing them to extend their lead to 29-10 at halftime. They were also dominant on the defense, holding the Lancers to only 3 points. Abbassi led the Eagles with 10 points at the break, followed closely by Nansamba with 7. Nansamba also managed the defense for Eagles, securing 5 rebounds.

Notre Dame came out of the break on fire, going on a 4-0 run in the early minutes of the third to cut their deficit. However, the Eagles took back the momentum quickly. After the Lancer’s early run, Mystic Valley outscored Notre Dame 6-4. Nansamba scored 3 points in the third, bringing her game total up to 10. After three quarters, the Eagles held a 35-14 lead.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth contest between both teams. Notre Dame opened the quarter on a 7-0 run, but Mystic Valley was able to pull away with 6 points in the final minute to ensure the win.

Mystic Valley (13-5) will travel to Northeast on Friday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 p.m. before playing Chelsea back-to-back at home and on the road on Monday, Feb. 19 and Tuesday, Feb. 20.