After a week marked by heavy snowfall, the Chelsea High girls basketball team bounced back with two consecutive wins. In their first matchup last Wednesday, the Lady Red Devils defeated Essex Agricultural 54-37 in a hard-fought battle. “It was a very energized and physical game,” remarked CHS head coach Matt LaBranche. “We got off to a great start and played hard the whole way. It was a great battle and everyone who got on the floor contributed to the victory.” The Lady Red Devils established an early 23-7 lead after the opening quarter and held a double-digit margin through most of the contest. Although Essex mounted a comeback attempt that narrowed Chelsea’s halftime advantage of 33-20 to 42-33 by the end of the third quarter, the Lady Red Devils responded with a strong final eight minutes to secure the 54-37 victory. LaBranche’s squad demonstrated balanced scoring, with Lindsey Fuentes and Victoria Perez each contributing 12 points. Khiana Binford scored seven, Madeleine Vielmann added six, and Carolyn Moni chipped in five points.
Friday’s contest against Academy of Christian Fellowship gave LaBranche an opportunity to utilize his full roster in a 38-17 victory. Junior Captain Mursal Hassan led the way with eight points, while Perez contributed six and Shuly Sejour added five. Freshman Jennifer Medrano and Bahiya Nasuuna each scored four points. Standing at 8-2 for the season, the Lady Red Devils are approaching qualification for the state tournament. Their upcoming schedule includes a game at Fellowship tomorrow (Friday), a trip to Mystic Valley on Monday, a journey to Lynn Tech on Tuesday, and hosting Essex Aggie next Thursday.
The boys basketball team faced a different outcome on Saturday against former Greater Boston League rival Revere. Through the first half, the Red Devils kept pace with Revere in an evenly matched contest that ended 35-35 at intermission. However, Chelsea’s performance deteriorated after halftime, allowing Revere to pull away for a 76-54 victory. “We played well for a while,” said CHS head coach Jay Seigal, whose team was missing captain and point guard Felix Crespo, “but Revere has some talented players and they simply played better than we did that day.” Sammy Mojica paced Chelsea with 17 points, and Joe Rivera added 16. Seigal also commended the efforts of Jordan Virella. With a 9-4 record, the Red Devils face a compressed schedule due to snow postponements, with five games scheduled over the next eight days. They will host Greater Lawrence tomorrow (Friday), travel to Greater Lowell on Monday, host Lynn Tech on Tuesday, travel to No. Shore Vocational on Thursday, and play at Minuteman next Friday.