Westbrook Girls’ Hoops Makes Playoffs by Winning Pink Game; Gingras Takes 4th in the Pole Vault at States
Girls’ Basketball
The Westbrook girls’ basketball squad claimed its eighth win of the season to qualify for both the Shoreline Conference Tournament and the Class S State Tournament during last week’s action. After taking losses against Portland and Amistad, the Knights scored a victory against Hale-Ray to clinch its postseason berth and improve to 8-10 entering the final week of the regular season. The Knights have been playing without leading scorer, senior captain Savannah Marshall, who is sidelined with an injury.
On Feb. 4, Westbrook traveled to Portland and lost a 53-39 contest. Senior Kelly Donlan scored a season-high 17 points for the Knights. Fellow senior Gabby Ehlert had nine points, and freshman Jamie Sacco scored five points. Lexi Koplas and Sadie Susi added four points apiece.
Three days later, Westbrook took a 48-29 road loss to Amistad. The Knights were led by Ehlert’s 10 points, while Sacco and Susi both scored five points.
On Feb. 8, Westbrook returned home for its third annual Pink Cancer Awareness Game and earned a 49-17 victory over Hale-Ray to seal its spot in the postseason. Donlan and Ehlert supplied 14 points apiece for Westbrook. Sacco scored six points, while Olivia Archer and Susi each had four points. Freshmen Deja Hunter and Alex Zanzalari both scored their first points for the varsity team in the victory.
“The team has learned to take on more responsibilities and step up without Savannah. Our seniors, Gabby Ehlert and Kelly Donlan, have taken on the most responsibilities and played well. We are very proud to make states,” Head Coach Kelly Landino said about Westbrook’s big win in the Pink Game. “It’s a special night for our team as we join the fight against cancer. This is a way that we can join together and make a difference in an important life issue that is much larger than us.”
Boys’ Basketball
The Knights dropped games against Portland and Hale-Ray last week to move to 5-13 on the season.
On Feb. 5, the Knights hosted Portland and lost a 52-45 decision versus the Highlanders. The game was close throughout, and Westbrook was still in it during the late stages of the fourth quarter. The Knights needed to foul Portland to stop the clock, ultimately leading to the seven-point defeat. Senior Jack Naccarato led Westbrook with 27 points and five rebounds.
Three days later, the Knights lost a 50-47 home matchup against Hale-Ray. The game came down to the final seconds, when Hale-Ray sank a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining for the win. Naccarato scored 21 points to go with nine rebounds. Sophomore Brenden Engels scored 11 points, while junior Seth Caslin had eight points. Senior Ben Schrek hauled in eight rebounds.
Boys’ Indoor Track
Senior Michael Gingras took fourth place in the pole vault when he represented Westbrook at the Class S State Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 7. Gingras scored four points for the Knights by clearing a height of 11 feet-6 inches in the pole vault for a fourth-place finish. The Knights came in 19th place as a team thanks to Gingras’s performance at the meet.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Westbrook sent two competitors to the Class S State Championship last week. Senior captain Avery Bauman turned in the best showing for the Knights when she finished eighth in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:22.54. Sophomore Elizabeth Gallagher competed in two events, taking 24th place in the 300-meter dash with a time of 46.0 seconds and 27th for the preliminaries of the 55-meter dash in a time of 7.97 seconds.