St. Mary’s girls hoop gets past Fenwick

PEABODY – St. Mary’s girls hoop coach Jeff Newhall was anxious to see how his team would respond last night on the road at Fenwick.The Lady Crusaders had lost their last game, 54-53, at Williams on Monday, despite being down by 19 at one point.Though the squad had made a valiant comeback in that last encounter, Newhall wanted to know how the team would emerge against the Lady Crusaders. The squad didn’t let him down, putting up 26 points in the opening stanza on the way to a 74-60 victory.”We had a couple of good days of practice,” said Newhall about the team. “We learned a lot from Monday’s game (with Williams), and tonight’s game (with Fenwick) was our biggest game of the year. They’re good rivals, and I wanted to know how we would react once the game began. We responded from the loss, and we played well.”He didn’t have to wait too long. St. Mary’s (10-1) had an early 6-4 edge, but freshman guard Jennie Mucciarone had the hot hand. After teammate Tori Faieta had six of the squad’s first eight points, Mucciarone showed her own scoring touch, drilling a pair of threes (as well as one of the conventional kind) in the frame.The team went on a 20-5 run throughout the last six minutes, collecting many an offensive rebound, and causing Fenwick (6-5) to turn the ball over consistently. Though Fenwick guard Amy Pelletier interrupted a 7-0 run with a three-pointer midway in the period (she had all five of the Lady Crusaders’ points in the St. Mary’s streak), Mucciarone followed a Cassi Amenta (the team’s high scorer with 19) hoop with her second three, continuing the Lady Spartans’ good fortune. St. Mary’s then added an 8-0 run to widen the lead to 26-9 before ending it with a 26-12 advantage.”Jennie (Mucciarone) shot the ball well and opened up our offense, and Kirsten (Ferrari) was steady at the point,” Newhall added.St. Mary’s allowed a first minute three to Pelletier (the game’s high scorer with 24), before widening the margin to 34-15 midway through the half. The team worked the fast break well, taking advantage of the offensive boards, and resulting in short jumpers.Fenwick guard Maura Doyle scored the next nine Lady Crusader points to bring the team to within 36-24 after hitting a three with 3:05 remaining in the half. Yet Mucciarone added her third three of the game (she finished with four overall) to help St. Mary’s hold a 45-29 halftime edge.”We can’t continue to give up second and third shots,” Fenwick coach Tim Harrington said. “We were beaten by an excellent team, but we didn’t do much on defense. And while Amy (Pelletier) had a good game (24 points), the girls have to step up on offense.”An 11-4 run by Fenwick throughout the third quarter brought the team to within 53-40 with just over two minutes left, but the Lady Spartans closed with the final seven points, with the last three coming on Mucciarone’s final three of the night to give St. Mary’s a 60-40 lead entering the fourth.