GEORGETOWN — Now is the time for teams to start playing their best basketball.
As crazy as it is to think about, we’re less than two weeks away from the end of the regular season. Our local squads only have a handful of games left before official MIAA brackets will be in our hands, and by that point, you won’t have the ability to have an “off-night.”
Thankfully for the Georgetown girls, it looks like their hitting their stride.
The beef of the CAL did give the Royals some trouble during the midpoint of the season. But following a commanding 48-28 victory over Triton on Monday night, they’ve now won three of their past four, and have a favorable upcoming schedule to really enter the Division 4 tournament on a hot streak. The Royals (9-6) have rematches against Manchester Essex, Cohasset and Ipswich teams that they’ve already beat, will get a chance to earn revenge against Hamilton-Wenham, then will end the regular season against a Division 1 team in Beverly.
So running the table is not out of the question.
“We’ve won three of the past four now so we’re getting better, but we still need to win more games,” said Georgetown coach Tim Spinney. “We want to continue to grow to make sure we’re peaking at the right time. The team played hard tonight and we did a lot of good things, and hopefully our best basketball is still out there in front of us.”
When it’s on, Georgetown has the pieces to be a dangerous team.
The Royals are currently ranked No. 10 in Division 4, and are quickly closing the gap to becoming a top-8 seed and hosting through the Round of 16. We all know how prolific of a scorer Daily News All-Star Talya Mariani is, and the sophomore has taken her game to another level this year averaging 13.8 ppg with 24 3s. But it’s her defense, along with fellow guards Avery Upite, Ella Thompson, Maddie Halmen, Alyssa Ziolkowski and Charlotte Kane, that has made this new-look, full-court press work. Then in the middle, the Royals have an eraser with junior forward Katie Davies, who had 7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks during Monday’s win.
And something else that has given Georgetown a huge boost: Two 7th-graders who look like real players.
Victoria Barbarick was already starting and averaging 8.0 points heading into the game, and she hit two 3s and finished with 9 points in the win. Then all season long, Brylee Hodges has given the Royals a nice spark from off the bench.
“We’re definitely very excited about both of them,” said Spinney. “They have great potential. But something we try to stress is that whether you’re a 7th-grader or a senior, you’re still a member of the team who can make a difference for us. We need everyone.”
It was very much a game after the first quarter on Monday, with some nice post moves from Lily D’Andrea (10 pts) keeping Triton within striking distance at 16-9. But even with Mariani on the bench in foul trouble, Georgetown was able to extend the lead to 32-14 at halftime thanks to a balanced attack. All seven Royals who checked into the game in the first half scored, and at the end of the day it was Upite leading the way with 11 points.
Triton is going through a rebuilding season after graduating five seniors from last year’s playoff roster. But coach Gregg Dollas has been impressed with many of his younger athletes stepping into those larger roles, with Mia Dupuis, Bella Burrell, Summer Pawlick and McKenzie Byrnes all having their moments throughout the year.
“We’ve gotten a lot more out of many of the younger kids than we were expecting,” said Dollas. “They’ve all sort of exceeded our expectations, and we’re excited to watch them develop and get better.”
Georgetown 48, Triton 28
Triton (28): Margaret Welch 0-4-4, Ava Johnson 0-0-0, Bella Burrell 0-1-1, Mia Dupuis 2-0-4, Lily D’Andrea 4-2-10, McKensie Byrnes 2-0-4, Summer Pawlick 0-0-0, Addison Ewell 0-2-2, Riley McDonald 0-0-0, Ashley Jones 1-0-3. Totals 9-9-28
Georgetown (48): Avery Upite 5-0-11, Katie Davies 2-2-7, Victoria Barbarick 2-3-9, Talya Mariani 3-3-10, Ella Thompson 1-2-4, Maddie Halmen 0-1-1, Alyssa Ziolkowski 2-0-6, Charlotte Kane 0-0-0, Bryley Hodges 0-0-0, Jamisen Tanzilli 0-0-0. Totals 15-11-48
3-pointers: G — Barbarick 2, Ziolkowski 2, Upite, Davies, Mariani; T — Jones
Triton (4-11): 9 5 5 9 — 28
Georgetown (9-6): 16 16 8 8 — 48