LEE, Mass. – Lily Mirante and Delaney Hayden each hit four 3-pointers Monday to lead the Drury girls basketball team to a 52-31 win at Lee in the Blue Devils’ season opener.

 

Mirante scored 14 points, and Haayden finished with 12. Ella Bond and Ashlyn Hayden scored six apiece in the win.

 

“Great start to the season for the girls,” Drury coach Ian Downey said. “We knew Lee would have a strong team this year, as they had a lot to build on from last season’s state tournament run.

 

“It was important for us to make a defensive statement and build from that, especially in our first game of the season on the road against a local opponent that knocked us out of the state tournament last year.”

 

Lee got eight points from Mika Diller and six from Giana Carlino, but the Wildcats could not recover after Drury grabbed a 16-7 lead in the first quarter.

 

“Defensively, I thought Megan [McGrath] and Ash did an incredible job forcing Gianna into highly contested shots,” Downey said. “Elise and Addy did the same against Mika in the post. Those two players are going to be tough for any team to stop, so holding them to a combined 14 points was outstanding. Of course, that effort doesn’t happen without great help defense and teammates crowding the lane.”

 

Drury (1-0) hosts Wahconah on Wednesday.

 

Lee (1-1) hosts Mount Greylock on Wednesday.