Stinson hits milestone, English earns win

LYNN – The night belonged to Catherine Stinson in every way possible.First, she wasted no time in getting her 1,000th career point, scoring it on a running right-handed floater with a little over a minute gone in the second quarter. Then, after getting that out of the way, she continued to torch Medford for 14 points, finishing with 24 in essentially three quarters, as the Bulldogs mauled the Mustangs, 60-27, Thursday at the Cavanagh Field House.?She was on fire, wasn?t she?” marveled her coach, Fred Hogan. “But I have to tell you that she?s the most unselfish player I?ve ever coached.”The story of the game wasn?t the fact that Stinson scored the milestone point. It was that she did it within the confines of the game?s flow. Nothing was forced. She took good shots … and they went in.?That?s what I mean,” said Hogan. “The thing is, in our last game, we really wanted her to get as many points as she could so that tonight, she wouldn?t need many. But she kept passing the ball. Our girls would come back to the bench and say ?she keeps passing it.?”There?s a simple explanation, said the senior/forward, who hasn?t made any decisions about college.?I wanted this to be a team thing,” she said. “I wanted the whole team to be involved in this.”When she finally scored it, on an assist by Deidra Newson, the entire bench spilled onto the floor to celebrate with her.?I think they celebrated it more than she did,” said Hogan, who is her uncle.?I was very nervous before the game,” she said. “I had butterflies. But once I hit my first shot (a three-pointer early in the first quarter), I calmed down.?It?s a nice accomplishment,” she said. “I can?t wait to come in here (the Cavanagh Field House) and see my name up on that banner.”Stinson, who also reached 500 assists Thursday, is the third girls player at English to score 1,000 — the others being Jeanette Anderson and Jenicia Duggins (the school?s all-time leader with 1,400). Hogan hopes that teammates Newson and Diondra Woumn eclipse the milestone before this season ends as well.Stinson hopes she?s not done setting milestones.?Yes, definitely,” she answered when asked whether she and the Bulldogs had other goals this season. “We want to qualify for the tournament, win the league, and then win a state championship.”As for the game, English built a big lead (55-20 after three quarters) and played the final eight minutes with a rotation of 10 bench players. Everyone saw action. It was 20-7 after one and 37-15 at the half.Stinson was also the only player for English who had double figures. Newson was next with eight; Woumn followed with seven, and Makayla Everette, Sam Holey, and Devinya Robinson each had six.For Medford, which is coached by Saugus? Leo Burke, freshman guard Rhiannon Arnold led the way with 10 points.