Lombardi’s 14 Points Lift Whalers To Second Straight Win

Maddie Lombardi showed up in a big way Thursday evening for Nantucket’s girls basketball team – scoring 14 points to lead the Whalers to a 35-30 victory over the Cape Cod Academy Seahawks at home.

"I'm through the roof and just so excited for these girls,” Nantucket head coach Rafael Osona said. “We lost by 20 last time we played them so I'm so, so happy for the girls because they really did a great job in preparation this week. They worked really hard, and they more importantly brought a good, cerebral, conscientious effort to learn how to beat these guys. We gave them a lot of material. They did a great job of absorbing it and then put it into practice and in the game.”

Both teams got off to slow starts to begin the game and found themselves tied 6-6 after one quarter. The Whalers picked up the offense a bit in the second quarter while holding the Seahawks to three points. Nantucket led 16-9 at half with Lombardi scoring eight of her points to that point.

Whaler guard Alana Ludvigson scored three points in the second quarter but came out hot in the third – scoring seven of the Whaler’s 12 points in that quarter. Osona said he liked how his team came out to begin the second half.

“We knew that coming out of that third quarter we wanted to win that quarter,” Osona said.

The Whalers led 28-24 entering the fourth and continued to rely on their defense to hold off a desperate CCA squad as the game’s final minutes ticked by.

"It was just such a really good, complete game for us," Osona said. "We executed what we wanted to do, we faced the adversity, we played with composure, and we were able to finish the thing. Just really exciting all around.”

Osona said Ludvigson has impressed and developed her all-around game as the team’s point guard – understanding that the team doesn’t have to score on the first iteration of the offense. He said her ability to control the game and slow it down has played a huge role in his team’s two game win streak.

As for Lombardi, the team continues to depend on her playing big minutes. Osona said she played 28 of the total minutes on Thursday providing high energy, quality offense, and doing little things that lead to blocks and steals.

The Whalers will attempt to improve their record to 4-6 on Tuesday, January 16^th when they host the Sturgis East Storm at 5 p.m.