The Big Green pulled off a win in a much-anticipated match against Loomis Chaffee on Saturday evening. It was a team effort all the way, as Vera Menafee ’20, Hanna Deringer ’20, Valerie Ma ’17, Jada Howard ’20, Rachel Shuman ’17, Nicole Da Costa ’19, Molly Fisher ’20, Lindsay Cureton ’17, and Tarah Almonacy ’17 all scored to help secure the 36-20 victory.
Deerfield shooting was cold as ice as the first half began, and Loomis got a quick 6 points. After nearly 7 minutes of play, Da Costa finally put Deerfield on the scoreboard, followed quickly by a basket from Cureton. Loomis responded with a basket, but Menafee tightened the gap with three makes from the free-throw line. Shuman hit a lovely outside shot from just over the three-point line to turn the game towards Deerfield and then, moments later, found another hole in the defense for another basket. Menafee got another free-throw, and Almonacy made one as well to begin building a lead. Howard stole the ball and sprinted the length of the court to float in a beautiful layup, and then Loomis scored once more to end the half, 15-10 Deerfield.
Deerfield knew they needed to buckle down for the win, and came out strong in the second half. Deringer got a nice elbow shot, and then Ma scored twice in a row, to the delight of the crowd. Whitney Vogt ’20 did a great job getting off the floor and boxing out for five rebounds total, as did Deringer and Da Costa. Menafee, on one of her many trips to the free throw line, got another make, and then put away a stolen ball from Cummings. Though Loomis hit two three-point shots, Shuman scored again off a nice look from Jane Mallach ’20, and then Menafee, Howard, and Fisher added to Deerfield’s 17-point run. Deringer crushed a layup off a steal, and Loomis scored a final basket to finish the game.
Heading into the four final games of the season with an 8-2 record, the team feels confident and excited to take on a strong squad from Wilbraham & Monson at home on Wednesday!