English girls outlast relentless Fishermen

If there was ever a time when the English girls basketball team looked to be in danger of stumbling, Friday night was it.The Bulldogs just couldn’t put Gloucester away. Even after co-captain Hannah Cain went down with what appears to be a significant knee injury early in the third quarter, the Fishermen stayed focused, hung with the Bulldogs, and looked as if they had enough to stage a final run.But it didn’t happen. The Bulldogs hung on, 70-61, to raise its Northeastern Conference record to 9-0 and its overall mark to 11-1.The game turned twice – first in a nightmare second quarter for Gloucester in which the Fishermen were outscored, 22-8; and again late in the fourth quarter when, with the opposition knocking at the door, the Bulldogs scored two quick baskets – one on a Taylor Newhall steal/Kayla Murkison basket – to give themselves some breathing room.”Too many missed opportunities early,” Gloucester coach Jon Flanagan said. “What killed us was the second quarter. It was just too tough to come back from that.”Without Hannah Cain for essentially the entire second half, her sister, Heather, came through with 15 points; co-captain Olivia Lufkin had 17 – 12 in the final 16 minutes; and Audrey Knowlton finished with 13.Murkison and Jenicia Duggins had 21 points each (“Kayla easily had her best game of the year,” English coach Fred Hogan said), while Newhall had a monster game, pulling down eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals.”These were two first-place teams, and it showed in how the game went,” Hogan said. “I cant’ say enough about our freshmen and two sophomores. They really came up big.”Freshman Shannon Calnan played some strong minutes, and had two points. Also effective was sophomore Shaday Imadiyi, who scored two points and hung tough down low; and Newhall, a sophomore, who had six points along with her other statistics.”She (Newhall) also played her best game of the year,” Hogan said. “Our coaches were saying that we actually looked big ? and, you know, it’s time to work some of these kids in. We’re going to be playing some big teams next week.”Gloucester led, 11-10, after one, and it was still close (22-18, English) as the second quarter drew to a close. However, the Bulldogs closed with a 10-1 run on baskets by Olivia Dupree, LaShaunda Hogan, Brianna Vaughan (a 3-pointer) and three foul shots by Murkison. That gave the ‘Dogs a 32-19 lead at the break.Gloucester began chipping away immediately in the second half, but all appeared lost after Hannah Cain was injured. But a 7-2 run brought the Fishermen to within 11 (41-30) before English staged a mild resurgence to go up by 14 (46-32), and the Bulldogs held serve until the end of the quarter, leading 49-38.Two quick baskets by Heather Cain at the beginning of the final quarter signaled Gloucester’s intention of hanging in, and the Fishermen crept ever-closer as the period progressed, until, with 2:58 to go, Gloucester found itself only three points down (57-54).However, Hogan laid one in with 2:03 to go. Newhall stole the ball and fed it to Murkison, who hit a jumper, making it 61-54 with 1:57 left.English stretched that lead to 11 before Lufkin nearly brought Gloucester back, scoring seven straight points to bring the Fishermen back to within four (65-61). However, English regained control again, scoring the final five points of the game.