Martlets Battle Portsmouth Abbey

In their first game of the Ethel Walker Holiday Tournament, the Martlets faced off against the same team they ended the tournament with last year – the Ravens of Portsmouth Abbey. Westminster initially struggled against Portsmouth’s zone defense and allowed their opponent too many easy looks in transition, slipping to a double-digit deficit in the opening quarter. However, the Martlets began to execute more efficiently on the offensive end, paced by scoring from Kaitlyn Buda ’27 and Gianna Monaco ’27, and started to create second chance opportunities with strong offensive rebounding, particularly through the efforts of Delia Lockwood ’26. Parker Perillo ’26 led the charge on the defensive front and Charlie Evanko ’29 stepped up with a few key shot blocks. Heading into the 4th quarter, the Martlets trailed by 7, but a basket on the first possession by Gianna Monaco ’27 cut it to 5. From there, the Martlets dug their heels in defensively and battled throughout the quarter to limit the Ravens scoring. A free throw by Monaco cut the deficit to 4 with 2 minutes left, then Buda and Monaco scored to put the Martlets down by 1. In the closing seconds, the Martlets had a few open looks to take the lead, but could not convert, falling by 2. In spite of the loss, Westminster showed lots of grit in their fight and will look to bring that same energy to the rest of the tournament.