Freeman, Underwood help Tech girls hoop rally past Shawsheen

The Lynn Tech girls basketball team rode the hot hand of Katrina Freeman and Jessica Underwood, both of whom were lights-out during a second-half comeback, to overtake Shawsheen at the O’Connor Gym, 53-47, last night.The win puts the Tigers into the final of the state vocational tournament, which will be played Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Monty Tech in Fitchburg. The game was originally scheduled for today, but with an impending snowstorm forecast, it’s been moved to Saturday.Freeman distributed her points evenly, scoring 10 in the first half and 10 more in the second. But she and Underwood were especially deadly in the second half (Underwood scored 10 of her 12 points in the final two quarters). And between the two of them – along with Tech’s very tight defense – they helped their team overcome a 27-23 halftime deficit.”Shawsheen is a good team,” said Tech coach John Crowley. “They’ve had some quality wins against quality teams.”We beat them here earlier, but we went out there (Billerica) and they beat us,” he said. “They used that stall in the backcourt, and we practiced it so that they couldn’t use it on us again.”However, it took time for the Tigers to get rolling in this one. Shawsheen ripped off nine of the first 11 points, and led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter.”We got into it a little more as the game went on,” said Crowley.In the second half, the Tigers started harassing the Rams as they slowly brought the ball upcourt. They may not have made many steals, but the pressure forced Shawsheen into several hurried shots once it crossed halfcourt. It also disrupted the Rams’ rhythm.Central to the victory, Crowley said, was the work of Fanice Baptiste, who, although she didn’t score a point, was relentless on defense.”She had a good game tonight,” he said. “She’s the one who keys the defense. She forced them to go a little faster than they’d have liked.”By halftime, Tech had whittled the lead down to four. Shena Mitchell, held scoreless in the first quarter until she hit a three-pointer at the end, got into it more in the second period, hitting two more three-pointers. Freeman also had two treys as well.Tech’s pressure defense forced numerous Shawsheen turnovers in the third, and the Tigers outscored the Rams to go into the fourth quarter down by only a point (40-39).By then, the tables completely turned. By this time, it was Shawsheen that couldn’t buy a basket while Tech started pulling away. The Rams had only seven points in the quarter while Tech had 14.Tech had taken its first lead – albeit briefly – in the third quarter, but Shawsheen got two quick buckets to regain the edge. However, Underwood’s basket to open the fourth quarter allowed Tech to regain the lead, 41-40.Only once, after that, did Shawsheen lead again (42-41) on a basket by Melanie Strazzere (game-high 21 points).After that, however, Tech got it right back on another basket by Underwood, and Mitchell followed with a hoop that gave the Tigers a 45-42 lead. Tech never trailed again.Shawsheen scored only four more points the rest of the way as Tech’s defense forced turnover after turnover.