Girls Basketball: St. Mary’s fends off Spellman to remain undefeated

St. Mary’s guard Bria Tiro struggled a bit in her last game, but she turned it around in a big way Monday, scoring a career-high 29 points to lead the Spartans to a 57-52 win over Cardinal Spellman at Brockton.”She had a tough game against Austin Prep and then she bounces back and scores a career high,” St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall said. “It’s a credit to her staying with it, at both ends of the court.”Although Tiro was a force all night, she was instrumental down the stretch, hitting a basket and going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in the final minute or so. Spellman cut the Spartans’ lead to one with 57 seconds remaining, but Tiro hit a shot and then went to town on the line to ice the win.Tori Faieta worked her usual magic under the net with 15 points, despite fouling out with less than two minutes remaining, and Cassi Amenta checked in with nine. St. Mary’s is off to a 3-0 start in the Catholic Central League Large for the first time. Both teams were undefeated coming into the game.Revere 68, Beverly 38At Revere, the Patriots (3-1) led by 10 at the half and never looked back. Morgan Jenkins (19 points) was one of four Revere players to hit double figures. Gina Restiano had 15 points, Marisa Parent, 13 points and Melissa Adreani, 10 points.”We played well as a team, especially in the second half,” Revere coach Diana DeCristoforo said. “This is a great start for us (3-1). We’re starting to get used to the offense. We really focused on the defense tonight.”Salem 50, Classical 41At Salem, the Rams trailed by one point after three quarters, but Salem went on a run in the fourth quarter. Classical found itself playing catch-up, opening the door for the fouls. The Witches didn’t crack at the line, hitting 11 of 15 in the final eight minutes.Stephanie Garcia (14 points), Jasmine Bryant (14 points) and Amanda Wilkins (13 points) fired up the Salem offense. Junior guard Briana Capone had a big game for the Rams (1-2) with 13 points. Hannah Byrne had eight points and nine rebounds and Diamond Doe added seven points.Swampscott 65, Saugus 26At Saugus, Kara Gilberg poured in 24 points for the Big Blue (2-1) and Tara Gallagher had 10 rebounds, four assists and 13 deflections/steals to go with five points. Sophomore Caroline Murphy also had a big night for Swampscott with 15 points. Jackie Strangie had eight points and Jill Kotowski, seven, for the Sachems (1-3).Gloucester 65, Marblehead 40At Gloucester, Audrey Knowlton and Olivia Lufkin each had 12 points and Heather and Hannah Cain chipped in with nine and eight, respectively, as the Fishermen improved to 3-0. Gloucester led 33-16 at the half.Shawsheen 56, Tech 36At Billerica, the Tigers (0-3) had trouble handing the press at times, but they had solid performances by Jenna Kulakowski (11 points), Octavia Harper (10 points) and Fanice Jean-Baptiste (7 points).Pentucket 70, Lynnfield 36At Lynnfield, the Sachems presented some “double trouble” for the Pioneers in the form of veteran players Ashley Viselli (25 points) and Erin McNamara (17 points). Viselli had five threes.Abby Shove led Lynnfield (0-3) with 11 points. Scout Benson chipped in with eight and Sarah Goldstein, five.”They shot very well from outside,” Lynnfield coach Bill Adams said, referring to Pentucket. “They had 11 twos and 11 threes. ? We’re struggling right now.”Danvers 56, Winthrop 25At Danvers, the Falcons (3-0) had a monster game from junior Kellie Macdonald, who scored 25 points. She also had five steals, two blocks and nine rebounds to complete the effort. Kasey Sherry contributed 10 points. The Vikings were led by Johnna Fisher, seven points.