The Westport jazz band and a good amount of fans were on hand to see the girls basketball team obliterate Greater New Bedford RVT 57-19 in a home game on Wednesday night. Senior co-captain Leah Sylvain led the way scoring 22 points as the team improved to 3-0. The Wildcats have been on fire through the first three games scoring 164 points using an up tempo transition offense and have outscored their opponents by 75 points. 

“Leah had a great game. She had some excellent transition points,” said head coach Jen Gargiulo. “She is the motor behind our offense and is an excellent ball handler. She sees the court really well.” 

Returning starters and team captains Sylvain, Korynne Holden and Sarah Perry have been a huge part of the Wildcats early success. The big three are intelligent and aggressive players with athleticism, quickness and speed to work the Wildcats transition offense. Holden netted 14 points against New Bedford and is playing with an abundance of confidence that’s showing up on the scoreboard as she leads the team with 60 points in the first three games.

“Korynne has stepped into the captain role and is giving it 100 percent all of the time,” said Sylvain. 

Perry scored 8 points and has been a rebounding force along with junior center Meghan Molloy who added a bucket against New Bedford. Perry has turned from a mild-mannered player as a sophomore into a fierce competitor as a junior this season.

She’s been stepping up in a way that I’ve never seen her step up before,” Sylvain said of Perry. “She’s doing a phenomenal job.”

Molloy, who spelled Lily Pichette last season, has been a great addition to the starting line up. The junior is tall, strong and ferocious on the boards. Her shot is under development, but the rest of her game is solid. Jessica George a speedy sophomore with good ball handling skills, has been playing at guard to round out the starting five. She added four points against New Bedford. 

We have multiple players that can score,” said Coach Gargiulo. “We have multiple offensive threats, but we need to continue to work as a team on our outside shooting. But it’s nice to see when you have seven players scoring. That’s awesome.” 

“We all have to play well to succeed,” agreed Sylvain. “We can’t rely on just one player. We have to work as a team.”

The Wildcats bench is young and inexperienced, but Coach Gargiulo and assistant Nikita Soares have done an excellent job of preparing the team and getting them up to speed for league play. 

“We set the tone from the beginning. The girls work really hard in practice and they’ve bought in as a team. They have three great leaders in their captains and the hard work that they are putting in is translating on the court.”  

The hustling Wildcats led 50-14 after three quarters and didn’t let up until Coach Gargiulo called off the dogs and sent the bench out to replace the starters in the fourth quarter. 

Sylvain playing in her senior year is hoping that the Wildcats can make some noise come playoff time.

“It’s my last season and I want to try to make of the most of it,” Sylvain said. “Hopefully we keep going the way we’re going. We have so many new girls that haven’t played at this intensity before,” Sylvain said. “So far the team is handling the pressure very well.”

Next up: Westport hosts Somerset Berkley on Tuesday at 1 p.m. and travels to Greater New Bedford RVT on Thursday at 1 p.m.

Westport scoring: Leah Sylvain scored 22 points, Korynne Holden netted 14, Sarah Perry scored 8, Shelby Orr scored 5, Jessica George scored 4 and Meghan Molloy and Giovanna Mendes each added 2. 

Owen Boudria breaks out for 26 points as Wildcats outlast Blue Hills 76-69

Sophomore Owen Boudria broke out for 26 points as Westport dispatched Blue Hills RVT 76-69 in an away game on Wednesday night. The Wildcats have won two straight since dropping the opener for an overall record of 2-1. Hunter Brodeur netted 23 points and Ben Boudria scored 10 as Westport led 15-4 in the first quarter, but fell behind 28-27 by halftime when Blue Hills switched up defensively and concentrated on Brodeur and Ben Boudria. 

After the break, the Wildcats countered by feeding Owen Boudria and the sophomore came up huge, scoring 18 third quarter points as Westport took a 59-48 lead. 

“His teammates were the ones who found him open and he made aggressive shots going in,” said head coach Scot Boudria. “Owen was three for four from three, so that helped a bunch, but the credit goes to the people who found him open.”

The Wildcats three-point shooting heated up in the third as Brodeur, Morotti, and Owen and Ben Boudria each drained threes in the third quarter to stretch the Westport lead. 

Brodeur scored 14 second half points, Ben Boudria netted 8, Morotti scored 5 and McGonigle added 2 as they held off a late Blue Hills surge. Elijah Dumornay scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as Blue Hills cut the Westport lead to 64-62 with 3:00 minutes left to play. But the Wildcats wouldn’t be denied. Ben Boudria drove in for a layup, Brodeur drained a pair of jumpers and Owen Boudria sank two free throws to give seal the deal for Westport. 

Next up: The Wildcats host East Bridgewater on Tuesday, 12/27, at 4 p.m. and travel to Fairhaven on Wednesday, 1/4, at 6:30 p.m.

Westport scoring:  Owen Boudria scored 26 points, Hunter Brodeur netted 23, Ben Boudria scored 10, Max Morotti scored 8, Cam Leary scored 7 and Coltrane McGonigle added 2.