Tech girls basketball wins final game in OT to wrap up season

The Tech girls basketball team outlasted Minuteman Thursday night in a 43-40 overtime win at Tech.Tech coach Kevin McDormand was ecstatic with how his team played.”It was great for my team to finish the season with a win like this. It was great for all my seniors to leave on a winning note in possibly their last ever game,” he said. “My team has lost a lot of close games throughout the season. It was good to be on the right end on this one.”Tech led 18-11 after the first quarter. Minuteman, which played zone defense in the first quarter, switched to a man defense in the second quarter. The switch of defenses proved to be the right choice, as the Mustangs held Tech to just three second quarter points. Minutemen led 25-21 at half.”From the second quarter on, it was an absolute dog fight from beginning to end. My team was fortunate enough to just make a few more plays down the stretch than Minuteman,” McDormand said.The score was tied 37-37 with one minute left in the fourth quarter, and that was the score when the final buzzer in regulation sounded. In the overtime, Tech’s Hattie Watkins (20 points) and Tori Park (14 points) did all the scoring. Tech seniors Claribelle Ramirez (8 points, 10 rebounds) and Monica Dany had strong performances in their final high school game. Tech finished with a record of 5-15.Lynnfield 55, N. Reading 39At Lynnfield, the Pioneers found themselves in a close battle early on, dominated the second quarter and outscored North Reading 25-6. Lynnfield was on cruise control from that point on. Lynnfield coach Pam McDonald was very happy with her team’s performance.”My team played great today. All my girls across the board played a phenomenal game when it meant the most,” McDonald said.Leading the way for Lynnfield was senior Kelsey LeBlanc (21 points, 17 rebounds). Katherine Lawless played a very strong game as well (15 points). The Pioneers finished the season at 10-10, which qualifies them for the state tournament. Lynnfield at one point had a record of 6-9 and needed to win four of its final five games to make the cut.Saugus 59, Malden 42At Saugus, sophomore Norma Waggett scored 20 points and Gabby Cogliano had 13 points, seven steals and seven rebounds to lead the Sachems (8-11). Stefani Terrazzano also helped out with eight points and senior Shannon Fiore nailed a big three-pointer down the stretch to help keep Malden at bay.Waggett, Cogliano and Alyssa Furtado were all named to the Northeastern Conference All Star team. Saugus, which has already qualified for the state tournament under the Sullivan rule, plays Winthrop tonight.GIRLS TRACKDiv. 2 State MeetAt the Reggie Lewis Center, the Classical High girls track team had a strong finish from Saffie Bangura, who finished sixth in the 55-meter dash with a personal best time of 7:52. The 4 x 200 relay also took sixth with a time of 1:49, which was 9/10ths of a second shy of qualifying for the nationals. The team included Bangura, Anna Wargo, Rebecca Potter and Jen Gaudet. Bangura and the relay runners won’t know until Sunday whether they qualified for the All-State Meet.BOYS TRACKDiv. 2 State MeetAt the Reggie Lewis Center, the Rams didn’t have anyone place, but they did have personal bests from Rudy Collymore in the 55 (6.97) and the 4 x 200 relay, that included Collymore, Romano Loudihon, Kevine Kakou and Brad Scuzzarella (1:40). Perry Raymond ran a 2:52 in the 1,000.