Walczak and French Shine for their Respective Teams
Portsmouth and Oyster River have one of the best rivalries in New Hampshire basketball. Last night it was clear that the rivalry exists not only on the boys side but wit the girls as well. Both of these teams have plenty of individual talent, and the result was a 65-56 win for Oyster River.
The big match-up in this game was in the paint between Portsmouth senior 6'1" forward Rosa Drummond and Oyster River junior 6'1" forward Danielle Walczak (pictured above). Walczak won the match-up, scoring a game-high 24 points compared to Drummond who had 14 points. Drummond also fouled out with 3 minutes left in the game. Drummond however, got the better of this match-up in the first game between these two teams earlier in the season. Walczak and Drummond are two of the best forwards in NH.
Leading the way for Portsmouth was 5'10" junior Susie French. Drummond was battling Walczak all game, and the Clippers' other key player, junior guard Ali Beauregard scored just 4. So it was French who rose to the occasion and single-handedly kept Portsmouth in the game.
In addition to Walczak, Oyster River also got an exceptional performance from Emily Sherry, a senior forward. Sherry had 13 points for the Bobcats, and combined with Walczak to provide a very tough 1-2 punch in the paint.
Elsewhere, in girls basketball in Mass., Bri Malone wrapped up a fantastic high school career Thursday night. Malone scored 19 points for Springfield Central, as they closed out their season with a 64-58 win over West Side High. Malone is headed to Holy Cross next season.
