It was a good news/bad news Senior Night for the Pelham girls basketball team.

The bad news? The Lady Pythons had just three seniors to honor, a reality evident by the 53-38 setback that evening, Friday, Jan. 30, courtesy of visiting Coe-Brown Northwood Academy.

The good news? The Lady Pythons graduate only three seniors. While the losses mount – Pelham fell to 3-10 following a 75-40 loss at Portsmouth on Tuesday, Feb. 3 – head coach Tim Powers knows his charges are showing marked progress.

“They’re young, and they learn every game. They’re improving, and they’re doing things better now than they were at the beginning of the year, so that’s the important thing …,” he said. “Anytime you can get on the floor and get some game experience that’s a huge benefit because you can’t simulate that at practice.”

Though Coe-Brown left the PHS gymnasium with a 10-3 record, the locals were competitive the entire first half, even taking the lead late in the second quarter.

But when senior standout Briana Szidat left with an injury early in the third, Pelham not only lost her scoring – she led the game with 18 points – but her leadership.

“That definitely was a factor, but even with her going out with an injury, we still had opportunities, and we just didn’t take advantage of those chances,” said Powers. “The girls came out and executed the game plan and did things the way they needed to, the way we wanted to do, and we were right in the game. That’s the kind of basketball we’re capable of playing. We just need to do it for four quarters.”

Nicole Mastacouris chipped in six points, while Sarah DeBaldo and Rachael Fournier each added four markers. Also contributing to the stat sheet were Jacqui Perry, Amanda Blake and Kayla Bailey.

Powers admits he looks forward to witnessing the fruits of this year’s lumps, but acknowledged his tri-captains, Szidat, Bailey and April Blinn, will be tough to replace.

“Obviously, Briana is the one that does a lot of the scoring and gets all the headlines, but the other two are … hard workers, and they do all the little things that, if you look at the box score, you’re not going to see,” said the coach. “But they do the things that make the team go: they push the young girls and do a lot of the dirty work. They’re very important pieces, all three of them.”