The Lancer girls basketball program celebrated their senior athletes Megan Duffy '21 and Bella Mazzurco '21 on Thursday, February 11, prior to their final game of the regular season against Hathaway Brown.
Duffy, a four-year member of the varsity team, is the program record-holder for most assists in a season, as she tallied 146 assists in the 2019-20 season. While she is still weighing her options, Duffy plans to continue her basketball career collegiately. Mazzurco, a three-year member of the varsity squad, was named the "Coaches Award" recipient for the 2019-2020 season. After Gilmour, Mazzurco plans to major in business and ultimately work for a professional sports team in either the WNBA, NBA, NHL or NFL.
Head coach Julie Solis reflected on both girls and their impact on the program.
"Megan is tenacious, outgoing, and dependable. Her work ethic and competitive nature make her stand out above the rest. She consistently exemplifies all the attributes of an authentic leader: she is polite, considerate, committed, reliable and extremely talented as she shares her passion for basketball with her teammates. She has helped me to grow as a coach by allowing me to witness her hard work and determination to overcome all obstacles placed in her path and to not only conquer those obstacles, but to always finish on top," said Solis of Duffy.
"When I think of Bella, the words responsible, dedicated and passionate immediately come to mind. She also has proven herself as an individual who is passionate about reaching her optimum growth in every aspect of her life. She is a very driven and motivated individual, and I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to coach her and I admire her knowledge of the game. She has never failed to follow through on anything asked of her no matter what challenges they presented. I am very confident that Bella has a bright future ahead of her," said Solis of Mazzurco.
At the conclusion of the senior ceremony, the Lancer girls varsity basketball team took on the Blazers of Hathaway Brown. Having narrowingly defeated the Blazers in overtime earlier in the season, the Lancers came to Thursday's contest focused on finishing the regular season with a victory. Gilmour started the first half with lights-out shooting, as Angelina Lonardo '22, Giana Lonardo '22, and Madeline Martino '22 all hit clutch three-pointers to extend the Lancers lead to 37-26 at halftime.
The Lancers controlled the pace of the second half on both ends of the court, and ultimately defeated the Blazers 61-48. Lauryn Stover '22 led the Lancers in scoring with 14 points, followed by A. Lonardo who added 12 points and Nicci Finazzo '24 contributed 10 points against Hathaway Brown.
With the victory, the Lancers end the regular season 14-7. To start their postseason journey, the Lancers will host either Coventry High School or Tallmadge High School in the sectional final on Saturday, February 20 at 1 p.m.
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