The Mascenic girls lost their varsity season opener to Hinsdale Tuesday night, but as new Viking head coach Troy Shaw sees it, the loss was just the first step on the girls’ road to be the best they can be.
“I’m looking at it like every single day, every single game and practice is just a building block,” Shaw said after Tuesday’s 57-26 loss to the Pacers. “I want to build this team to be the best they can possibly be throughout the season.”
Mascenic doesn’t quite have the size to match up with Hinsdale’s star center Angelina Nardolillo, and as the game opened up, the six-footer had her way down low. But with a minute left in the first, Hannah Zina drew a loose-ball foul on Nardolillo and sent her to the bench, and the Vikings quickly drew closer, cutting their 9-1 deficit to 11-6.
Delaney Wilcox was there to pick up the slack for the Pacers, however; she’d score a game-high 16, and once Nardolillo returned in the third quarter to score nine of her 13, Hinsdale pulled away for good.
“When you have a team that experienced and talented, they execute so well that they’re going to find the openings,” Shaw said. “That’s a team we want to look up to. They execute so well on offense that no matter what defense you throw at them, they’re going to expose you at some point.”
Tuesday was Mascenic’s first chance to square off against a true varsity roster after a few games versus Wilton-Lyndeborough’s JV girls team. This year’s Vikings are young, yet again, after last season’s influx of varsity-playing eighth-graders, and they’re playing a long game as they soak up experience.
“That’s my goal, to build basketball players and then get them to perform,” Shaw said.
The potential was on display Tuesday. Skye Lambert led the Vikings with 11, fearlessly throwing herself at the basket despite the tall tree in the center. Zina dominated the offensive glass and finished with nine points on a slew of putbacks, and Kenzie Cormier, Lexis Vautour and Leah St. John all cracked the scorebook as well.
The Vikings’ journey continues Friday when they travel to Hinsdale for a rematch.
Mascenic 62,
Wilton-Lyndeborough 37
The Vikings handed the Warriors yet another loss in Wilton Tuesday, improving to 3-0 after playing WLC three times to open the year.
Shea Zina and Jack Cocozella had 15 apiece for Mascenic; Alex Golding had a game-high 19 for WLC.