Basketball Roundup: Fenwick girls reach postseason

The Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team killed two birds with one stone on Monday evening at Hamilton-Wenham, defeating Beverly 64-28 to claim the Patton Tournament championship and a berth in the upcoming state tournament.?It?s a great feeling to finally reach our goal after a few weeks of pressing,” explained Crusaders coach Adam DeBaggis. “We know we are a better team than our record (11-8) shows. From here we can just try to improve before the tournament begins.”Gianna Pizzano led all scorers with 21 points, as Fenwick opened up a 14-5 first quarter lead before heading into halftime up 29-15. Pizzano opened up the second half with a 13-point third period.?She was tremendous tonight,” said DeBaggis. “She guided our offense all evening long and made a bunch of flashy moves to get to the hoop.”The Crusaders also got solid production from Colleen Corcoran, who finished with a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds), and Kate Lipka, who also scored 11 points while pulling down six rebounds.Despite the offensive performances, DeBaggis was most impressed with his defense, which held the Panthers to just two points in the final quarter.?We played very well to start and finish in the game,” he said. “We had three players finish with three steals, which was great to see.”Woburn 48, Peabody 38At the Woburn Tournament, the visiting Tanners fell behind 23-9 at halftime and could never recover despite a furious fourth-quarter rally. Peabody (14-5) was led by Carolyn Scacchi at both ends of the floor, as she scored 21 points (14 in second half) to go along with 15 rebounds. Sara Hosman added eight points.Newburyport 70, Saugus 42At Saugus, Norma Waggett scored 15 points to set the Sachems? all-time scoring mark by a single digit. Saugus, who finished the season 3-19, got eight points from Carissa Contreras. The Clippers got 39 points from sisters Mary (20) and Emily Pettigrew.BOYS BASKETBALLEnglish 94, Everett 74At St. John?s Prep in the IAABO tournament consolation, the Bulldogs jumped to a 27-1 lead in the first quarter but still had to survive some tense moments as Everett got it down to seven (46-39) in the third. However, the Bulldogs pulled away from there to win.Johnny Hilaire led English with 23 points while Freddie Hogan scored 20. Also in double figures were Danny Lukanda (14), Erick Rosario (18) and Stevie Collins (12).St. Mary?s 74, Whittier 49At Haverhill, the Spartans improved to 14-4. Anthony Silfa (15 points) and Nick Amenta (13) led the way for St. Mary?s, who hosts the Spartan Classic on Wednesday and Thursday.Saugus 60, Newburyport 54At Saugus, the Sachems (10-9) qualified for the state tournament behind a 32-point effort from Joe Bertrand. Saugus got eight points from Dan Cacciola.Peabody 58, Ipswich 50At Peabody, the Tanners won behind a balanced scoring attack, led by Bobby Sullivan, who finished with 10 points. Peabody (8-12) got nine points apiece from Brian Onessimo, Jared McCarron, Matt D?Amato and Matt Correale (5 assists, 3 steals). The Tanners conclude their season with an exclusionary game on Thursday against Somerville.Salem 65, Malden 52At Salem, the hosts won the first edition of the Witches Shootout behind 27 points from tournament MVP Bryan Martinez-Rodriguez. Salem (16-5) got 17 points from Rashad Keys and 11 from Jamie Dominguez, who were both named to the All-Tourney Team.Beverly 72, Minuteman 47At Beverly, the Panthers broke away during a 27-3 third quarter. Beverly (15-7) got 14 points apiece from Chris Sinclair and John Berchoff as well as 12 points from Nick Cross and nine from Josh Cairns.Amesbury 66, S?scott 61 (OT)At Swampscott, the Big Blue were outscored 10-5 in the extra period after rallying for an 18-7 fourth quarter to force the continuation. Chad Nelson led the way for Swampscott (4-14) with 28 points and 18 rebounds while Joey Ragusa added 19 points.Masconomet 61, Tech 35At the Salem Tournament, the Tigers fell in the consolation game, despite 16 points from Michael Anaya. Tech (2-17)