The Meridian High School Mustangs girls basketball team continued their winning ways on Friday night. Senior guard Megan Tremblay began the scoring with a three pointer, and the Mustangs never trailed en route to a dominant 75-33 victory over the visiting New Kent Trojans. The score was 5-4 in favor of the home team before a 12-0 run broke it open, as the Mustangs’ relentless full court pressure on the defensive side of the ball forced a slew of Trojan turnovers, many of them generating easy opportunities for uncontested layups. The lead only grew from there – by halftime the score was 34-15, and any chance the visitors had of climbing back into the game quickly evaporated as Meridian expanded its margin to 62-23 by the end of the third quarter. The score eventually climbed to a 51 point deficit for New Kent before a 9-0 run by the visitors in the closing minutes cut it to a final score of 75-33.

            Five Mustangs scored in double figures. Junior guard Peyton Jones led the way with 19 points, including 13 in the first half. Megan Tremblay had 16 and Senior guard Bella Paradiso had 14. Zoraida Icabalceta, another Senior guard, scored all 12 of her markers in the second half while sinking three three-pointers, and Junior forward Elizabeth Creed had 11. The Trojans were led by Katelyn Warren’s 14 points, the only member of the visiting team who scored more than five. New Kent was held to only eight made field goals over the course of the game, five of which came from Warren. The visitors’ lone three-pointer of the contest didn’t come until Jakiera Thomas knocked one down from deep in the fourth quarter.

            The win is the 19^th straight for the Mustangs, who have not lost since December 10^th  when they dropped a 53-49 decision at Yorktown (notwithstanding a forfeited contest against Brentsville on February 8^th). Meridian now awaits their opponent in the State Semifinals on Monday night, which will be played in the friendly confines of their home gym. Should they win that matchup, they will advance to the State Finals in Richmond.