Saugus girls battle unbeaten Rams in preparation for playoffs

  Concluding the regular season with consecutive games against the undefeated Lynn Classical Rams, the Saugus High School girls’ basketball team may have received a worthwhile prep course for the upcoming Div. 3 playoff tournament. The Sachems lost both contests but showed their grit in Wednesday’s second meeting at the Saugus gym, losing a hard-fought 48-42 affair.

  The Rams got out of the gate fast by pulling away to an 18-7 lead early in the second quarter. Saugus struggled on offense in the first half before eventually settling down and coming back to take a lead in the second half. “It was a back-and-forth game. We were playing well, I thought [in the first half] but were just unable to finish our shots,” said Saugus Head Coach Mark Schruender.

  Three-pointers from Peyton DiBiasio (a team-high 14 points) and Jessica Bremberg (seven points) helped the Sachems climb to within four at the break. The second half mainly consisted of both teams trading hoops and the lead. At various stages of the final 16 minutes, a basket by Ashleen Escobar (11 points) and a hoop from beyond the arc from Ana Silva gave the hosts the lead.

  Schruender said the Rams, who went 20-0 in the regular season, always came back with an answer any time the Sachems were able to pull in front. “They made the last run of the game and were able to prevail,” he pointed out.

  Classical defeated the Sachems by a 47-28 margin in the first meeting between the two squads last Thursday.

  Wednesday’s loss left Saugus with a 13-7 overall regular-season record. The Sachems, who have no senior players on this year’s team, finished as co-champions of the Northeastern Conference’s Lynch Division.

  The state’s Div. 3 power rankings had Saugus as the 22nd ranked team with the playoff brackets – and the Sachems first-round opponent – yet to be determined as of midweek. Schruender said Saugus could see tourney action as early as later this week.