8TH GRADE CAPTURES DIVISION 8C CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE!
All season long the 8th grade travel team worked hard to learn the High School offense and full court press. While at times it seemed as if they would never be able to run it effectively, the girls continued to work hard and displayed a truly remarkable spirit even in the face of some early season blowouts. After finishing 0-14 in the regular season, the Thunder were placed in the 'C' division tournament bracket.
Knowing that anything could happen in the tournament, the Thunder rolled on to impressive victories over Hamilton-Wenham, Peabody and Gloucester on their way to a Championship match-up with the Beverly Panthers.
The contest turned out to be everything it was supposed to, as two 'B' division rivals who ran their respective sides of the brackets, left everything they had out on the court.
Neither team could mount a sustained offensive attack as the two traded defensive stops and timely baskets on their way to a 16-15 Beverly advantage at the half.
The second half continued to prove the ferocity and determination of both clubs. As time wound down to a minute to play, the Thunder found Jess Malatzky at the line shooting two free throws. After missing the first shot and a Panther time out, Jess hit a three bouncer off the back rim to tie the game at 32. The Thunder then went into a full court, girl to girl defense in an attempt to steal. Beverly was able to get the ball in and into the front court but failed to score as Malden regained possession and ran the floor with Nicole Baker getting to the basket for a foul and 2 shots. Baker calmly hit 1 of 2 giving the Thunder a 33-32 lead. On Beverly's inbound pass, Malden was able to steal the ball with Jess McDonald open on the wing. Having found nothing but rim all day, McDonald confidently released her shot which found nothing but net, giving the Thunder a 35-32 advantage with 15 seconds left on the clock. Beverly was able to inbound the ball and run the floor for a layup to bring the Panthers to within a point, 35-34 with 7 ticks left on the clock. On the ensuing inbound, Malden nearly turned the ball over, but an alert Jillisa Walcott came in from out of bounds to grab the loose ball and preserve the Thunder Championship! What a game!!!
High scorers for the game were Courtney Valley and Jillisa Walcott, both contributing 12 points to the victory.
This marks the second championship trophy for four year players Jillisa Walcott and Courtney Valley, who were 5th graders when Malden won the 6C championship in 2001 and the first trophy for three year players Jess McDonald, Jess Malatzky and Emily Todisco who were runner-ups in the 6C division in 2002.
Leading Tournament Scorers (4 games):
Nicole Baker: 46 points Courtney Valley: 36 points Jillisa Walcott: 36 points
Jessica Malatzky: 21 points Jessica McDonald: 20 points
The ladies embodied the spirit of a Champion and the spirit of Malden Girls Basketball throughout the entire season and especially in this tournament. Please congratulate them whenever you see them. They worked extremely hard for the right to call themselves:
!!! CHAMPIONS !!!