On Tuesday, Jan. 10, the Bromfield girls varsity basketball team beat Littleton High School at Littleton with a decisive score of 53 to 41.

Bromfield scored the first seven points of the game and dominated the court until Littleton called a timeout only two minutes and 45 seconds into the game. When play resumed, junior Casey Magrath made two free throws after being fouled on a jump shot, and on the next offensive play, freshman Amy Jorgensen scored a layup.

Co-captains senior Katja Lierhaus and junior Montana Burke led their team in the first quarter with strong rebounding and Burke's three defensive steals. Bromfield had a lead of 18-6 after the first eight minutes of play.

During the second quarter, Bromfield racked up 12 rebounds and three steals as a team. Bromfield began the quarter by playing a full-court press, but dropped to a half-court press with two minutes left.

Both Bromfield and Littleton played aggressive defense resulting in many jump balls. Each team got into foul trouble toward the end of the first half. Bromfield was in the lead with a score of 30-18 heading into the second half.

Bromfield had a slow offensive start to the third quarter but defensively finished strong, with 14 rebounds and two steals.

"After halftime, it seems to always take us a few plays to snap back and get our heads back into the game," senior Molly Papazian said.

With two minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Littleton caught up to Bromfield's lead and tied the score at 35-35. Littleton called a timeout, after which Magrath scored a layup. Bromfield controlled the ball and the play on the court for the remainder of the quarter.

"They caught up in the third, but we didn't let it slow us down," Lierhaus said. "We worked through it, and we stayed in the game. We were definitely not going to let them win."

In the final quarter of the game, Littleton got into foul trouble once again, and Bromfield took advantage. Lierhaus scored three points on fouls shots, while Burke and junior starter Sue Ross each had two. Maintaining possession of the ball, senior Katie Drummey had a defensive block and consequent steal leading to a breakaway for her team towards the end of the fourth quarter.

Ross played an all-around strong game, as she contributed 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Burke finished with 11 points and Magrath had nine. Lierhaus and Papazian each had three, Jorgensen and Brittany Lee had two, and Drummey had one.

"I think we worked hard today and were really on our game," Drummey said after the game. "Even though there were tough calls made against us by the referees, we were able to pull through."

Coach Mike Dube said he thought his team had a great game and that his team's five starters played really well, setting the tone for the remainder of the game.

"In the third when Littleton caught up to us, the timeout made them lose their momentum and Montana's two steals got us back in the game," Dube said. "The girls just played really well, and now we have two wins and one loss in our league and seven wins overall, which is really good."

The Lady Trojans hold a record of seven wins and two losses. After having a week without any games, the girls play at home against West Boylston at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20, which is one of the most anticipated games of the season.