English, Classical advance to Boverini tournament girls final

LYNN – The Lynn English girls basketball team will have a chance to three-peat this evening, as the squad attempts to capture the Walter J. Boverini Tournament for the third straight year.Click here to view a photo gallery from the tournament.The Bulldogs put together a solid one-two combination of strong outside shooting and swarming defense in the middle two periods to offset St. Mary’s, 52-37. English will face Classical, which outdistanced Lynn Tech, 46-9, in yesterday’s opener.Tonight’s championship game will begin at 5 at the Cavanagh Field House at Lynn English, while Tech and St. Mary’s will tap off in the consolation contest at 1.The tournament was named after longtime state senator Walter J. Boverini, a Lynn resident who recently passed away at the age of 84.The Bulldogs (4-0) had allowed the final eight points of the opening period, with six of them coming on back-to-back three-pointers by guard Amy Bozarjian. It didn’t take long for English to take over, outscoring the Spartans, 19-8, in the frame, and closing down the St. Mary’s offense.Guards Miranda Hogan (8 points) and Brianna Vaughan (6) nailed successive threes from the far left corner to open the period, moving English back in front, 13-12. Both teams traded free throws, tying the score at 14, but Hogan drained another trey moments later to give English the lead for good at 17-14.”St. Mary’s packed us in (when we had the ball), and Miranda and Brianna went for the threes,” said Bulldogs coach Fred Hogan, who saw his club hit four three-pointers in the stanza and seven overall. “We play an intense style of basketball, and we turned up the heat (both offensively and defensively) in that quarter.”English caused St. Mary’s to make several turnovers throughout the quarter, as the Spartans (3-2) continuously missed shots and turned the ball over as a result of missed chances and travel violations. St. Mary’s didn’t register its first field goal (it only had two in the stanza) until guard Alison McCarthy hit a running leaner with almost five minutes gone to bring the team to within 21-18.No sooner had that basket been made when guard Jenicia Duggins hit the fifth English three-pointer of the period from the left side of the key to widen the lead to six, 24-18. Both teams traded baskets, with the Bulldogs taking a 26-20 halftime edge.English then tore open a 16-2 blitz to begin the third, with Lashaunda Hogan connecting on a three of her own. St. Mary’s forward Nicole Hanlon stopped the bleeding momentarily – after the Bulldogs had scored the period’s first six points – with a short jumper, but English then netted the next 10 points, including treys by guard Kayla Murkison and Vaughan for a 42-22 advantage.St. Mary’s was beaten to the offensive boards, limiting second chances and helping to create opportunities for the Bulldogs.”The turning point was when we played halfcourt man-to-man to begin the second,” said Coach Hogan. “And we did a good job on the boards as well.”English was led by Duggins and forward Jeannette Anderson, who both scored 10 points. Anderson also hauled down 15 rebounds, moving her 27 away from the 1,000 plateau for her career.”If you’ve got someone like Anderson inside and hit nine three-pointers, you’ll be difficult to beat,” said St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall, who did have praise for two of his players: guard Amy Bozarjian and forward Cassi Amenta.English sophomore Olivia Dupree contributed eight boards and seven points.Classical (2-2) registered the first 13 points against the Tigers in the opener, with guards Tashanna Brown and Shanece Berberena hitting from Three-Point Land to begin the game. Forward Jenna Kulakowski connected on a three in the final seconds of the opening quarter to put Tech on the board.Unfortunately for Tech (0-3), the team would be plagued by turnovers and missed shots, and Classical would take advantage. Forward Pierina Mora outleaped everyone for a putback of a teammate’s miss early in the second, and guard Marina F