LITTLETON — For many years the Ayer and Littleton girls basketball teams were MidWach D rivals and last year they went toe-to-toe to decide the league championship. This season Littleton has been moved up to MidWach C but the teams met as non-league rivals last week. They battled on even terms for the first half before the Lady Panthers pulled away to post a 37-28 win.
The first half was close throughout with Megan Wodzinski of Littleton and Cathy Comerford of Ayer waging a scintillating personal battle over the first 16 minutes. Each scored nine points in the first quarter that ended with Littleton holding a slim 12-11 advantage.
Comeford scored four points in the second quarter while Wodzinski added a three-pointer as the teams ended the first half deadlocked at 18-18. Ally Fillebrown chipped in with a second quarter three-pointer for the Lady Panthers.
“Wodzinski scored on drives, from the inside and from the outside in the first half,” said Ayer coach Joe Scunziano. “We tried a number of different defenders against her, but it didn’t work. We just couldn’t stop her.”
The good news for the Lady Panthers was that Comerford was giving the Littleton defense fits and matched Wodzinski point for point, plus one.
“Cathy has gotten off to a slow start offensively this season in the first two games,” said Scunziano. “Against Littleton she used her athleticism and found her outside shot.”
Both teams came out in the second half with plans to slow down or stop the opposing team’s top scorer.
“Littleton came out in a box-and-one against Cathy,” said Scunziano. “We switched freshman Anna Peck on to guard Wodzinski and she shut her down the rest of the way. Anna denied her the ball and used her size to advantage.”
The Lady Tigers’ box-and-one did a solid job of slowing Comerford down, holding her to two points in the final 16 minutes, but the Lady Panthers’ ability to go to plan B in the third quarter helped build a meaningful lead.
“We used our size in the third quarter inside the paint,” said Scunziano. “Amanda Shaughnessy came off the bench and scored three quick baskets and Brynnan Farrington scored a pair of baskets after grabbing offensive rebounds. Their contributions were the key to the game.”
Ayer outscored Littleton 12-5 in the third quarter to take a 30-23 advantage. The Lady Panthers maintained their defensive intensity throughout the fourth quarter and didn’t allow Littleton to make any runs and climb back into the game. Ayer easily held the Tigers at bay to post the win that moved them over the .500 mark.
One of the keys to the win was Ayer’s hard work off the backboards as the Lady Panthers pulled down an amazing 53 rebounds in the contest, including a crucial 26 at the offensive end. Those caroms prolonged possessions and accounted for meaningful second chance points.
“We did an excellent job of rebounding in the game,” said Scunziano. “I’m happy with the win and very happy with the defense and rebounding. Offensively we are still struggling and we have been unable to get all the cylinders firing at the same time. We will just keeping working hard and it will come.
Comerford paced the win for the Lady Panthers with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Farrington (13 rebounds, 3 steals) and Shaughnessy (7 rebounds) each scored six points. Katie Poitras did a solid job of running the offense and finished with three points, three rebounds and five steals. Peck, in addition to her stellar defensive effort, scored two points, hauled down 16 rebounds and made five steals.
Wodzinski led Littleton with 17 points while Nicole Johanson added seven points.
