WELLS — Natalie Thurber’s strong play on both ends of the floor carried Wells to a 47-28 girls’ basketball victory over Waynflete on Monday night.
“Getting (Thurber) out in transition is a goal of ours because she’s pretty dangerous in the open floor,” said Wells Coach Don Abbott.
Thurber scored 16 points, including three 3-pointers, to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Defensively, she had six steals.
“I felt like I had a good shooting night,” Thurber said. “Definitely not my best, but I feel like I did have a good night.”
The Warriors (2-0) went on a 13-3 run to close out the first half and held a 28-15 lead at the break.
Waynflete (1-1) committed at least nine turnovers in each quarter, finishing with 37.
“We talked about having teams play under pressure,” Abbott said. “Whether we’re full-court pressing or not, we just want to make sure we’re making it uncomfortable for (our opponent) as much as possible.
“It seems like we did a pretty good job of that tonight.”
In contrast, Wells turned the ball over just 10 times after a turning it over 10 times in the first quarter.
“(Wells is) very well-coached, they’re very disciplined, and they bring energy,” said Waynflete Coach Mike Jefferds.
Annika Brooks had a double-double for Waynflete, scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She scored six of her team’s eight points and had five rebounds in the third quarter.
“(Brooks) turns it on in games. Not that she doesn’t practice hard, but she’s a quiet kid and nonchalantly goes about her business,” said Jefferds. “She gets it done, she never quits.”
This was Brooks’ second double-double in as many games.
“She has a nose for the ball, she’s always around the rim and around the ball,” Jefferds said. “She does a great job for us and she’s a big part of what we’re going to be doing this year.”
Alyssa Loukola scored eight of her 10 points in the second quarter for Wells.
Waynflete cut into the deficit in the third quarter, outscoring Wells 8-4.
“Our girls compete so hard all the time, there’s no quit in them,” said Jefferds. “I couldn’t be prouder of them. I think the score was not indicative of how close we are. We’ll get it, we’ll come together soon.”
Wells responded by outscoring Waynflete 15-5 in the fourth quarter.
“Give (Waynflete) credit. We had them up 13 at the half and they hung around, cut it to single digits in the second half. They’re very scrappy and well-coached,” said Abbott.
Both teams struggled from the free-throw line. Waynflete was 7 for 16, and Wells was 5 for 12.
Lydia Giguere scored six points and added eight rebounds in the loss.
“I think (Waynflete is) a team that is going to win a bunch of games as the year goes on,” said Abbott.
“I’m glad we played them early (in the season) and got out of here with a win.”
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