Girls hoop: English clinches NEC/North crown with win over Peabody

For the second year in a row, and for the fourth time in the last five years, the English girls basketball team claimed the Northeastern Conference title after their 58-37 romp over Peabody.Diondre Woumn led the Bulldogs (17-2, 14-1 NEC) with 22 points and eight steals. Dierdre Newson added 13 points and six rebounds while Catherine Stimson scored 12 points and dished out six assists.”Our defensive intensity tonight was unreal,” said English coach Fred Hogan. “Our team understood that they could take the title tonight and we came out on top. My hat’s off to the team and the coaching staff, they worked very hard for this.”Heading into the game, the league title was still up in the air, with Peabody pushing English for the the top spot. For the Tanners, Carolyn Scacchi scored 15 points and Olivia Summit managed nine points.It was not the Bulldogs’ offense that carried the team to their 14th straight win this season, the longest winning streak for the team since the 1995 squad started 20-0, but the defense.”Our team has been playing unselfish basketball,” said Hogan. “We take pride in the team defense we play.””I told the team after the game that what they have accomplished is special. They can come back to the gym in 10 or 15 years, see the banner, and know they were part of something special,” added Hogan of the title and the run. “But now our new goal is to win the state title, and to focus on that.””(English) executed tonight, they played great on offense and defense, they hustled, and they outplayed us tonight,” said Peabody coach Jane Heil. “I can only congratulate them, they earned the title tonight.”Swampscott 51, Saugus 47At Swampscott, A Talkov scored 16 points to pace the Big Blue over the visting Sachems. In the loss for Saugus, Norma Waggett recorded 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Gillian Lyons added nine points, seven rebounds, and three steals.Winthrop 28, Danvers 27At Danvers, a defensive struggle broke out in the middle of a tourney atmoshphere as the visiting Vikings were able to steal a win from their hosts. Temisan Meggison led Winthrop in scoring with eight points,.For the Falcons, Ashley Arnoldy had a big game on the boards, pulling down 13 rebounds while Kasey Sherry led Danvers (12-7, 9-6 NEC) in scoring with eight points.”This was a tough, physical game, in sharp contrast to the first time we played,” said Danvers coach Patrick Veilleux.Arl. Catholic 47, Fenwick 30At Arlington, the Crusaders could not keep up with their hosts. Despite a strong all around effort by Rose Santozzi, with five poitns, four rebounds, two steals, and a block, Fenwick could not overcome a 22-7 halftime deficit. Chandler Wilder led Fenwick (11-8) in scoring with seven points.St. Mary’s 68,Austin Prep 21At St. Mary’s, the Spartans greeted the birth of Alexander Nicholas Newhall (son of coach Jeff Newhall) with a resounding victory.Brianna Rudolph had a game-high 23 points to lead the Spartans, whop won 10 games in the Catholic Central League/Large for the first time ever.Sharell Sanders chipped in with 12. The Spartans are 16-1 overall.Gloucester 35,Marblehead 29At Gloucester, Mia Bongiorno led Marlbhead with 11 points while Caroline Helms, Maggie Forbes and Grace McGurrin all played well defensively to limit Gloucester’s high scorer (Sophie Black) to four points.The Magicians (7-9) must win three of their next four games.