Basketball: Spartan girls halt Medfield

The St. Mary?s girls basketball team hosted last year?s Division 2 champion Medfield Wednesday night. Medfield came in with a perfect 18-0 record and had not lost a game in over a year. The Spartans ended Medfield?s long winning streak to the tune of a 64-56 victory.?This was a great performance by the girls tonight,” St. Mary?s coach Jeff Newhall said. “We came in with a chip on our shoulders, as we lost a tough one against Williams in our previous game. The girls bounced back and played with great energy tonight. To beat a team as talented as Medfield is always a great accomplishment.”St. Mary?s had a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, and a slim 31-28 lead at the half. The Spartans clamped down on defense in the second half, and took a 46-37 lead going into the final quarter. St. Mary?s had a 58-46 lead with 2:27 remaining in the game. Medfield answered with an 8-0 run, and cut the St. Mary?s lead to four (58-54) with 1:07 left. The Spartans finished the final 1:07 on a 6-2 run to put away Medfield.Leading the way for St. Mary?s was the trio of Brianna Rudolph (24 points, 13 rebounds), Sharell Sanders (16 points) and Jennie Mucciarone (9 points, 7 rebounds). The Spartans improved to 17-2.Tech 41, Fellowship 32At Tech, the Tigers (2-19) celebrated Senior Day in winning fashion. They came out strong in the second half, playing aggressively at both ends of the court. Brianna Brangman had 10 points in the win and Mirriamny Jimenez, eight points. The four seniors honored were Zulmary Gonzalez, Amanda Lobo, Yerania Castro and Yanna Cabata.Lynnfield 54, Amesbury 41At Lynnfield, Emma Mancini was on fire for the Pioneers (16-3). She led the team with 19 points and had 10 rebounds. Katherine Lawless had 10 points, nine of them in the second half, and Ashley McRae had eight points, including five during a key stretch in the fourth quarter.?This was a tough game,” Lynnfield coach Bob Melillo said. “The kids gutted it out defensively. They only allowed 16 points in the second half and only five in the fourth quarter.”KIPP 43, Prospect Hill 34At Somerville, the Panthers (10-2, 8-0) had to work hard for this win, but they got the job done with a balanced scoring attack led by Alex Huffman (13 points) and Waleska Muriel and Pleilerkay Gaye, 12 points each. KIPP and Prospect Hill have been battling it out for the top spot in the conference, but KIPP pulled away a bit with two wins over Prospect Hill this week.BOYS BASKETBALLKIPP 54, Prospect Hill 49At Prospect Hill, KIPP (8-1) had a 29-19 lead at the end of the first half, and was up 43-29 late in the third quarter. Prospect Hill made a late surge, but KIPP iced the game away at the free throw line. Leading the way for KIPP were Jonathan Mola (11 points, 9 rebounds), Dave Metelus (9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Tayjuan Mckenzie (9 points, 3 rebounds) and Danya Smith (7 points). KIPP will next play Phoenix Charter Friday.