THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, March 8, 2024 Page 15 Mystic Valley tops Leicester in D4 girls’ basketball playoffs By Emily Brennan T he Mystic Valley Regional Charter School girls’ basketball team started tournament action on a high note with a memorable 41-38 win over Leicester on Tuesday evening. The team used a balanced scoring attack and a big second half run to overcome a 15-0 deficit. With the win, the Eagles advanced to the second round (32) of the D4 MIAA Girls Basketball Tournament to face Tyngsborough. Tyngsborough is the No. 2 seed with a near-perfect divisional record of 19-1. Head Coach Rick Pulsifer admitted that “It’s going to be a tough, but we’re a resilient team.” Bailey DeLeire led the team, pouring in a game-high 16 points, seven steals, four rebounds and an assist. Breana Nansamba totaled 14 points and four steals, while Sylvie LaFeber scored six with three steals. Rim Badaoui scored two and registered three rebounds. Leicester came strong out of the gate as they hit nine of their first 10 shot attempts en route to a 15-0 advantage. Nansamba ended Mystic Valley’s scoring drought at 1:49 with a bucket and a free throw. DeLeire added another successful free throw right before the buzzer, and the Eagles fell behind 17-4 in the first quarter. Sylvie LaFeber The Eagles fended off Leicester in the second quarter as they went on a 9-0 run to get back in the game. Leicester hit a pair of foul shots with 1:32 remaining, but the Wolverines would not get another point from there Aya Abbassi Abby Ssewankambo (#14) and Sylvie LaFeber in the background Breana Nansamba and went into halftime with an uncomfortable 19-13 cushion. The second half witnessed a remarkable comeback from the Eagles, as they rallied together, closing the gap with strategic play. Nansamba scored the first five points in the opening three minutes of the third quarter. Mystic Valley and Leicester found themselves tied at 25-25 with just 39 seconds left. Unfortunately, the Eagles fullcourt defense broke down and Anna Luiza Batista Leicester drained a three-pointer to end the third quarter with a small 28-25 lead. Mystic Valley would not go away quietly: Nansamba buried a triple within the opening minute of the final quarter. The teams would pass the lead back and forth down to the fi~ Malden Neighborhood Basketball League ~ Week 11 –‘1 week – 1 spot remains’ 2024 Malden Neighborhood Basketball L Games behind Streak League Team Bullets - c* Sixers - c Lakers - c Celtics Pistons Kings W 12 1 9 4 7 6 5 9 4 10 3 10 0 2 3.5 7.5 8.5 8.5 c - Clinched playoff spot * - Clinched 1st Saturday, March 2, at Ferryway Game 1 – Bullets 64, Sixers 28 Team 1 has finally clinched. The boys in blue + 1 girl have locked the 1st place spot for the Madness this season. Behind a 19-point outburst in the 1st and 26 in the 2nd, “MVP candidate” L. Guertin led all with 18 as teammate I. Pineda dropped 11 in this clinching victory. Sadly, the 2nd place Sixers could only muster up just 6 points in the entire 1st half; they were led by C. Joseph, who scored 11 of his 13 in the 3rd. And the team scored anSunday, March 3, at Ferryway Game 1 – Celtics 44, Kings 41 The green got a much-needed win to stay alive in the 4th spot, which means whoever gets the 4th gets the Bullets in Round 1. The Kings, who have been playing their best ball as of late, did have a 27-13 lead at the Half. Despite a nice game from A. Brathwaite, who had a weekend high of 21, they came out of the locker room and had just 3 in the 3rd? The Celts, on the other hand, came back in a strong way, behind 18 from J. Sweeney and a pair of 10 from C. Malave W - 10 L - 1 L - 5 W - 1 W - 1 L - 1 other 6 in the 4th – not a strong offensive showing heading to the Madness. Game 2 – Kings 50, Lakers 39 The Uprising Men in Black took down their familiar opponent in shocking fashion. The Lakers missed 14 free throws on the day as W. Gavin led his squad with 16. The Kings started off slowly, trailing 10-6 after 1, then turned it on, outscoring their opponents by a 19-5, 2nd quarter margin. Z. Pierre (18), A. Brathwaite (14) & J. Ponce (11) carried the momentum throughout and got themselves a well-played victory. & C. Mathely – and dominated the 2nd half. Game 2 – Pistons 38, Lakers 36 The Pistons are making the final regular season weekend an interesting one, as all 3 remaining teams have not yet qualified for the final spot. Are all within reach of getting it? The struggling Lakers dropped another close game. Luckily, they are locked in the playoffs but need to right the ship or it’s a 1 and done on the season after starting out as the hottest team to begin the season. “MVP candidate” S. Warton has also seemed to have cooled off; he led the team with 11 but only scored 2 in the 2nd half. W. Gavin stepped up in the 2nd half and scored all 10 of his total. Despite going 3-19 from the line, the Pistons came storming back & outscored the Lakers, 13-3, in the 4th – led by J. Bly (12) & R. Wallace (11) to cap off the Win. This Week’s Games Sat. March 9 Kings Sixers Lakers Bullets Sun., March 10 Bullets Pistons Celtics Kings Lakers Sixers nal buzzer, but the victory came from behind the free throw line. With 55 seconds left in the game, LaFeber hit her second three of the night to give the Eagles a 39-37 boost. DeLeire hit two free throws with just four seconds left in the game to clinch the nail-biting victory.
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