The Pinkerton Academy girls’ basketball squad finished up their 2013-14 regular season last week with a split of decisions in games with the Manchester Memorial Lady Crusaders and the Salem High Lady Blue Devils.
A huge second-quarter effort helped the Lady Astros to a 53-40 defeat of Memorial in Manchester on Tuesday, Feb. 25. But the PA girls ended up dropping a five-point decision to Salem three evenings later.
As a result of those two outcomes, the Pinkerton crew ended up 13-5 overall in the congested Division I standings. But the road loss to Salem also 13-5 – was significant for PA.
In the win over Memorial, the Astros trailed by three points at the end of one quarter (16-13), but it outscored its host by the stunning margin of 24-0 in the second period to carry a 37-16 lead into the second half.
The Lady Crusaders won periods three and four outscoring PA by a 24-16 margin in the process but the hosts were unable to make a full comeback.
Standout junior forward Val Martin led the PA offense with 16 points, and senior guard Kayla Stacy who transferred to Pinkerton from Memorial sank four three-point shots and finished the night with 12 points. Colleen Fortier contributed nine points, and Andrea Albrecht was good for eight.
The nip-and-tuck battle with Salem last Friday night, Feb. 28, wound up being important for both sides, as the host Lady Blue Devils jumped ahead of PA in the D-I standings by snagging the 45-40 win.
The Lady Astros led 12-7 after one quarter, but Salem enjoyed a 17-6 advantage in scoring in period two and thus carried a 23-19 lead into the second half.
Pinkerton faced a 39-32 deficit rolling into the final eight minutes of play, and a full comeback wasn’t in the offing in the end for the locals.
Brandi Bonneau paced PA with 16 points, Martin was good for nine, and Fortier netted eight.
