LYNN — A word to the next few teams scheduled to play English. Get the Bulldogs early because the train is picking up steam.
English lost two games early in the season, but things are looking up. The Bulldogs defeated Classical 46-16 Monday with a smothering defense keeping the Rams from mounting any sort of attack.
“We’re definitely picking it up in the new year,” English coach Fred Hogan said. “Every game, we’re getting better and better.
The Bulldogs came out flying and by the end of the first quarter, they held a 12-2 lead. The gap widened to 20-6 by the half and it was lights out for the Rams in the third. Catherine Stinson scored seven in a row for the Bulldogs to open up a 27-8 lead.
The Rams had junior co-captain Kristin Lauria, who had missed several games with a knee problem, back. Although Lauria gave the Rams a big lift on the defensive boards, the Bulldogs weren’t giving away much in the paint at their end of the court.
“They pack it in and now you have to hit the outside shots,” Classical coach Tom Sawyer said. “It was good to see our co-captain back, but it was hard to get the ball inside to her.
“I give them credit. They played well. They’re a very good team. They’re not the defending league champions for nothing.”
The tenacious English defense forced quite a few turnovers and when the Rams did get the ball down the court, they rarely got a second shot. Stinson led all scorers with 14 points with Deidra Newson contributing 10. Newson’s five first-quarter points gave the Bulldogs an 11-2 lead and her five to end the third quarter put English up by a daunting 23 points. Diondra Woumn (8 points) and Dolores Latimer (7 points) did their part to spoil the Rams’ night.
“It wasn’t our best offensive night, but defensively we’re getting better every game,” Hogan said.
Classical senior guard Monta Connolly had six points for the game and sophomore forward Heidi Milhem had four.
“We had to hit some outside shots and we weren’t able to,” Sawyer said. “That was the only way to get the zone to loosen up.”
With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 6-2, 4-1 in the Northeastern Conference Large. The win also puts them in first place. Classical is 6-3 overall.
Although it wasn’t a great game for the Rams, Sawyer saw some good things out there when he went to his bench in the fourth quarter. Freshman Chenysse Hill provided a nice spark for the Rams down the stretch.
“She was really aggressive out there,” Sawyer said. “She wasn’t afraid. She played some good defense.”
Joyce Erekson can be reached at [email protected].
