SALEM — The Danvers High girls basketball team attacked the start of the second half Thursday night the same way they attacked the start of the New Year … and the result extended the Falcons’ winning streak in convincing fashion.
Danvers shook off a tough second quarter test from host Salem and pulled away for a 58-23 victory at Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse.
The Witches (0-2) cut into an early double-digit Danvers lead and trailed by a mere six points at halftime. Undeterred, Danvers opened the third quarter on a 22-0 run and ultimately extended its winning steak to four while climbing over .500 for the first time since prevailing in its season opener.
Sophomore Angie Djoko had 18 points and 11 rebounds and helped the Falcons come alive in that decisive quarter by getting a pair of steal-and-layups to start the frame. Freshman guard Kendall Murphy scored seven of her nine points in the third quarter and also had a handful of key steals, and junior Gianna Ferraro scored seven.
“Our theme for 2024 is how we react to adversity. Basketball’s not easy and it’s not always pretty,” said Danvers head coach Dave Chisholm. “With as many young players as we have, sometimes at the beginning of games there’s nerves. They settle in and once their shots start, falling they get going.”
Seniors Kianny Mirabal-Nunez (14 points, 5 rebounds) and Isvely Severino (7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) carried the load for Salem in its home opener. After falling behind 11-0, the Witches ended the first half on a 13-8 run sparked largely by that pair’s hunger on the glass and ability to finish near the hoop (even drawing contact for conventional three-point plays on multiple occasions).
“I saw improvement. It’s only our second game, so we’re still playing our way into shape. I loved what I saw out there in that second quarter,” said Salem’s first-year head coach, David Kazadi.
“We brought the intensity. We focused a lot on boxing out, and I told them every rebound should be ours.”
For most of the second stanza, the Falcons used their depth and speed to harass Salem with pressure on the ball. Freshman Anabel Boyd had a number of steals along with three blocks while sophomores Kayda Brown and Lila Flynn and senior guard Molly Godfried were outstanding defensively.
“It’s hands up, quick feet and get up there to contest a shot,” said Chisholm, whose club has held eight of its nine opponents under 50 points and five of those under 40.
“If we struggle to score, then keeping teams in the 20’s and 30’s is where we want to be,” he added. “We tell some of the kids to isolate a scorer and defend: If you hold that girl to six points, that’s as good as scoring six of your own.”
The final tally on the Falcons’ third quarter barrage was 28-5, with one of the game-high two triples by Mirabal-Nunez ending the run. Destiny Bennett (2 blocks) and Princess Baez (2 steals) gave Salem some energy, but overall the Witches had a tough time cracking the Danvers press.
“With that full court and man-to-man, we definitely fell off a bit. We came out flat after halftime,” said Kazadi. “That’s something we can work on.”
A bucket by senior Ava Gray stretched the Danvers lead over 30 points in the fourth quarter, with every healthy Falcon getting into the game and 10 of them scoring. Seniors Brea Robinson also made a basket and junior Maddy Shairs buried a long ball.
Danvers 58, Salem 23
at Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse, Salem
Danvers 13 6 28 11 58
Salem 2 11 5 5 23
Individual scoring
Danvers: Brown 2-1-6, Djoko 9-0-18, Flynn 0-0-0, Godfried 0-2-2, Murphy 4-0-9, Boyd 2-0-4, Ferraro 3-1-7, Gaudino 2-0-4, Gray 1-0-2, Mastrangelo 0-0-0, Robinson 1-0-2, Shairs 1-1-4. Totals 25-5-58.
Salem: Bennett 1-0-2, Baez 1-0-2, Severino 3-1-7, Ventura 0-0-0, Mirabal-nunez 5-0-12, King 0-0-0, Castle 0-0-0, Frias Guerrero 0-0-0, Roberts 0-0-0, Rios 0-0-0. Totals 11-0-23.
Halftime: D, 19-13.
Three-pointers: D, Brown, Murphy, Shairs; S, Mirable-nunez 2.
Records: D, 5-4; S, 0-2.