By Sophie Kilbride
Opinion Editor
Shorewomen basketball is off and running, beating Salisbury 50-39 in the first game of their season on Nov. 9.
Washington College was tied for sixth place in the Centennial Conference preseason polls after finishing fourth in last year’s conference playoffs.
A sixth place finish would catapult the Shorewomen into the playoffs for a fourth straight season.
Though the Shorewomen graduated their leading scorer Serena Pluta last year, their starting lineup of returning players is full of stat sheet stuffers and leadership experience.
The first half of the match saw little scoring as the Seagulls set up in a full-court press, limiting WC’s chances at the basket. The Shorewomen exhibited a similar defensive mindset, setting up in a low block zone defense to stifle any Salisbury entries into the paint.
Junior center Kaitlyn Boggs shined early on in the game for the Shorewomen, scoring six points and coming up big with a series of blocks and steals to put her team ahead of the Seagulls 12-9 heading into the second quarter.
Boggs was a top-ten rebounder in the Centennial Conference, finishing sixth last season. She nearly clinched a triple-double versus Salisbury and set a new WC program record for blocks in a single game with eight.
After the break, the Shorewomen stayed in a zone defense, forcing Salisbury to play outside the paint.
The Seagulls struggled on the perimeter, outshooting the Shorewomen 18-6 from the three-point arc but only making five.
With 30 seconds left in the second quarter, junior guard Kerry Kelliher received the ball on the outside of the arc and made a move around her defender, carrying the ball to the middle of the paint and driving to the basket for a layup.
To secure her team a seven point run into halftime, Boggs deflected a Seagull pass, sending the ball into the hands of Kelliher. Kelliher found freshman guard Taylor Shane making an outlet run to the basket and delivered a long pass for her to finish on a layup securing her first career points.
Washington College led 23-16 after the first half.
The whistle to start the third quarter marked the beginning of a Shorewomen lead. Though the Seagulls scored five baskets in the third quarter, they could not quite overtake WC on the board.
While Salisbury remained in their man-to-man full-court press, the Shorewomen remained patient offensively throughout the match.
Junior guard Emma Robinson appeared to be the strongest ballhandler on her team, often slowing the game down when needed and capitalizing on counterattack moments.
Salisbury attempted a late third-quarter comeback, cutting the Shorewomen’s lead to six points, but the Shorewomen quickly put a 10-point difference between themselves and the Seagulls early in the fourth quarter.
With 8:57 left in the final quarter, junior guard Abby Meredith converted a basket off of an assist from Boggs. She followed up the shot with a hustle play on the next Shorewomen possession, jumping to save a rebound from going out of bounds and keeping the ball on WC’s offensive end.
The Shorewomen finished the fourth period 50-39 in a great demonstration of team effort.
Kelliher, who was a top-10 assist leader in the Centennial Conference last season, had a game-high 12 points and a game-high four assists.
If Saturday’s match is anything to go by, Shorewomen basketball has a road back to the Centennial Conference playoffs this season.
Photo by Darius Kesey.
Photo Caption: The Shorewomen jump out to a 1-0 start after defeating Salisbury University 50-39 in their home opener.