It was Senior Night for the Verona High School girls basketball on Thursday, and the celebration was smaller than it has been in some previous years: forward Maddie Gallagher and guard Maddie Leonard are the only two graduating members of this year’s team. Cheerleader Julia Grise also shared the Senior Night spotlight.
While both seniors played well, the game did not go Verona’s way. Payne Tech beat the Lady Hillbillies 65-43. Verona had a strong first quarter, putting up 12 points, but stumbled in the second. Verona rebounded in the second half, but it was not enough to catch up to Payne Tech’s scoring lead.
Maddie Gallagher, who has more than 100 points to her credit this season, led the scoring for the Hillbilly squad. Arianna Hill and Sanaya Diaz were the high scorers for the Newark school, more formally known as the Donald M. Payne Sr. School Of Technology.
Verona has two more regular season games on its schedule. They will be at Cedar Grove on Tuesday, February 25, for a 7 p.m. contest and then host Jonathan Dayton High School on Thursday, February 27, at 4 p.m.
Photos copyright Ashley Baumguard and Kathleen Seubert. Used by permission.
