The Chelsea High girls basketball team rolled to a pair of impressive victories this past week, defeating Mystic Valley 39-24 on Friday and then topping Fellowship of Christian Academy on Tuesday, 44-31.
After a slow start against MV in which the Lady Red Devils held a slim 13-12 lead at the end of the first half, the Chelsea girls came out with guns blazing after the intermission, outscoring their opponents 16-4 in the third frame to take control of the contest, 29-16.
“We had a discussion at the half in which we talked about coming together and stepping up the intensity,” said CHS head coach Matt LaBranche.
Leading the charge at both ends of the floor for Chelsea was Madeleine Vielman, whom LaBranche praised for her work on both offense and defense. “Maddy did it all for us,” lauded the coach. “She had her best game of the year.”
Vielman led the Lady Red Devils in the scoring column with 16 points. Lindsay Fuentes also turned in a strong, two way effort with eight points and 11 rebounds. Shuly Sejour hit for six points, Tatiana Fontes chipped in five, and Jennifer Medrano added four.
Friday’s contest with Fellowship allowed LaBranche to bring up some of his junior varsity players who got to start for the varsity. The contest never was in doubt, as Chelsea took a 14-2 in the opening quarter which the Lady Red Devils built into 23-7 at the half en route to a 44-31 victory.
Vielman and Alex Hudson shared scoring honors with 10 points each. Bahiya Nasuuna hit for seven points, followed by Caroline Moni and Crystal Rodriguez with four each, Medrano with three, and Natasha Cruz and Barbara Carron with two apiece.
The twin wins raised Chelsea’s record to a fine 7-2 on the season and provides momentum for the Lady Red Devils as they were set to take on Presentation of Mary yesterday (Wednesday) in a contest with first place at stake in the Small School Division of the Commonwealth Athletic Conference.
Chelsea hosts Shawsheen tomorrow (Friday) and entertains Essex on Tuesday.