Saugus Girls Earn Back-To-Back Home Wins

  Coming off consecutive losses that dropped their record to .500, the Saugus High School girls’ basketball team climbed back over the even mark by earning back-to-back victories at home earlier this week. The Sachems collected double-digit wins over Arlington Catholic on Monday and Gloucester on Tuesday.

  Against Gloucester, Saugus raced out to an early 14-3 lead and held a 21-10 advantage after one period. The Sachems led 27-19 at halftime and went on to outscore Gloucester 26-21 in the second half to come away with a 53-40 win. Contributing to the offensive side were Ana Silva with three baskets from beyond the arc, Taylor Deleidi with two three-pointers and Ashleen Escobar with seven points. Freshman guard Peyton DiBiasio, who netted a team-high 24 points, did her damage from all areas of the floor, hitting from the outside and penetrating successfully to the basket.

  “[DiBiasio] did a great job of probing the defense and getting into the paint and then making plays off of that,” Head Coach Mark Schruender said. “When girls are making shots it puts pressure on the [opposing] defense to make a choice about helping against drives or stopping the shot.”

  Schruender said that there were many contributors to the victory. “Defensively, DiBiasio, Escobar, Silva and Deleidi played well on that end, but we also got great contributions from Madison Botta and Devaney Millerick as well,” he said.

  Against Arlington, Saugus pulled ahead by a wide margin early before the visitors battled back with a 14-2 surge late in the first half. A 9-3 run to open the third quarter revived the Sachems, who went on to take control of the contest. A strong shooting performance was one of the keys for the hosts, as DiBiasio exploded for 25 points in an eventual 59-43 triumph.

  Escobar finished with 17 points, and Jessica Bremberg and Ashleigh Moore (six points on two three-pointers) did much of the dirty work with rebounds and controlling the paint, according to Schruender. Juliana Powers completed a key basket on a drive to the hoop that Schruender said “essentially put the game away for us.” The coach also cited Amelia Pappagallo for her effort off the bench against Arlington.

  The two victories improved Saugus to 5-3 overall on the season (2-2 in the Northeastern Conference) – with a contest at home against Masconomet Friday night (Jan. 13). The Sachems then travel to take on Danvers next Tuesday night.