BERLIN- Worcester Prep’s unbeaten girls’ varsity basketball team got out to a big early lead against Gunston early on Monday and played the Herons pretty much even the rest of the way to improve to 11-0 on the season.
The Mallards wasted no time jumping out to an early lead on Monday at home and led 15-0 at halftime. Gunston did not get on the scoreboard until the five-minute mark of the third quarter when a pair of free throws cut the lead to 15-2. Worcester’s Hailey Merritt then scored two free throws of her own to push the lead back to 17-2. Gunston responded with its first field goal of the game with just over four minutes left in the third to cut the lead to 17-4.
After that, Gunston played the unbeaten Mallards pretty close the rest of the way. The Herons completed a three-point play to cut the lead to 17-7, but a pair of baskets by Worcester’s Emily Copeland pushed the lead back to 21-7 with two minutes remaining in the third. Madison Bescak completed a three-point play just before the end of the third to extend the lead to 24-17.
To start the fourth quarter, Gunston scored on a layup and added two free throws a few seconds later to cut the Worcester lead to 27-12. Kathleen Emche hit a jumper to extend the lead to 29-12 with two minutes remaining. Gunston scored on a put-back with just 10 seconds left to close out the game at 29-14. With the win, the Worcester girls improved to a perfect 11-0 on the season heading into a two-week winter break. Since the Christmas holiday break, the Mallards have four straight including a narrow 24-20 win over old rival Saints Peter and Paul last Wednesday.