It hasn’t been an easy launch for the Manchester Essex girls’ basketball team, but the gauntlet they have faced over their first five games of the 2024-25 season could help this team down the line.
The Hornets started the winter off on a positive note with a win over Cape Ann League rival Lynnfield at home, then sandwiched five losses in between
the season opener and a win over Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical on January 10.
We opened the season with a win over Lynnfield and just had a good win over Essex Tech that came down to the wire,” explains Manchester Essex girls basketball coach Lauren Dubois. “The team showed a lot of character to come from behind and get the win.”
During that stretch, the team also faced off against basketball heavyweights like Danvers and Masconomet – larger schools with deeper rosters – which
hopefully will provide character-building opportunities and lead to improvement in the near future.
“Playing against good competition makes us better,” explains Manchester Essex girls basketball coach Lauren Dubois. “We have to focus on the process. We can identify the areas we need to work on more in practice and improve.”
Aside from the recent win, the Hornets have shown signs that things could click into place for them. Manchester Essex has gotten balanced scoring from a number of players including Ella Arntsen (6.4 points per game), Penelope Riggs (5.7 ppg) and Lily Oliver (5.7 ppg), and have put in a good effort on defense.
“We have been playing good defense and doing a good job pressuring the ball,” says Dubois. “We are moving better on the offensive end and creating opportunities to score.
While the scoring has been pretty evenly distributed among the team, many of the players on the squad have shown they are adept at the fundamental aspects of the game as well.
“We have had a lot of people stepping up on different nights,” explains Dubois. “Tess Carpenter has been creating havoc on defense and shooting well behind the arc. Tori Moulton has stepped up on defense
to help take on some key defensive assignments. Emerald Jakes has helped break the press. Isabelle Donnellan Valade has been battling on the boards and been a great leader.”
The Hornets are now in the thick of their Cape Ann League schedule, with a home game against Ipswich slated for January 13, which at press time resulted in a 57-22 win for the home team, a road game against Lynnfield scheduled for two days after that and a home matchup with Amesbury to finish out the week on January 17 (6:30 p.m.).
“[These are] all league games so we want to be playing our best basketball,” says Dubois. “Each team plays a different style, so we need to be prepared for a lot of different defenses.”