English girls basketball romps

LYNN ?Never again will anyone have to hear or read the sentence “The Lynn English girls basketball team has never won a tournament game.”The Bulldogs got the 800-pound gorilla off their backs with a convincing 65-42 rout of Acton-Boxboro, Friday night, in a Div. 1 North quarterfinal tournament game, at Cavanagh Gym.Northeastern Conference North division MVP Jeannette Anderson led the second-seeded Bulldogs (20-3) with 16 points, while fellow NEC all-star Jenicia Duggins added 15. Lashaunda Hogan, another all-star, also scored in double-figures with 10 points.English awaits the winner of tonight’s Central Catholic/Cambridge game, and will play in the semifinals on a day, time and location to be determined.”Now the girls know what it’s like to win a post-season game,” English coach Fred Hogan said. “They were a little nervous today so we let them listen to their music before the game and be kids for awhile, but once they settled down they were all business.”The seventh-seeded Colonials (15-7) took an early 10-5 lead, and things looked bleak early for the Bulldogs when Anderson had to leave the game briefly after hitting the deck hard on a post move. She returned about the time English switched to a full-court trap that suffocated Acton-Boxboro. The Colonials went without a field goal for 9:15 in the first half as English ripped off a 23-4 run to take command.”We practiced during the week with eight players (on defense) for their pressure, but it still wasn’t enough,” Acton-Boxboro coach Cathy Gallant said. “Their five players were even faster than our eight.”Greta Pszenny and freshman sharpshooter Elizabeth Belanger led the Colonials with 12 points apiece. Belanger hit a couple of 3-pointers to give Acton-Boxboro its early five-point lead, but English turned up the heat on defense about three minutes into the game and the Colonials cooled right down.”We got them to start rushing their shots,” coach Hogan said. “The girls just imposed their defensive will. We showed our athleticism tonight against one of the top teams in the state.”Acton-Boxboro managed just four free throws while Anderson dominated the half-court offensive set. Duggins and Lashaunda Hogan created havoc with the press. By the time Lauren O’Brien swished a 10-footer from the left baseline with 1:27 left in the first half, English held a 12-point lead.The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 12-2 run that ballooned the lead to 26 points, effectively ending the competitive phase of the game. English’s lead peaked at 56-28 when Lashaunda Hogan hit a pair of 3-pointers within a minute early in the fourth quarter.