Senior trio helps English win

LOWELL – As one third of the troika that has led English to an undefeated season (as of now), Deidra Newson stood waiting for the timeout to end.With English going to the free throw line so often (because Central Catholic was forced to foul to stop the clock), Raiders coach Sue Downer twice called timeouts between English free throws. The first time she did it, after a Catherine Stinson miss, the senior point guard came back and hit the second one to give her team a 50-48 lead.Now, she was doing it again. Newson was shooting two free throws, with English in double bonus, and had hit the first one to make it 51-49 with 11.5 seconds left in the Division 1 North championship game. A second free throw would go a long way toward wrapping this one up in English?s favor.And Downer called another timeout.?I was hoping I could come back and hit the second one,” she said. “Waiting through a timeout just adds more stress to the whole thing.”The whistle blew. Newson took aim, shot … and hit. Her two points were the final two of the game, as English — which had clamped down on Central down the stretch to totally shut the Raiders down — finished strong and won the title.?Now,” said Newson, “I feel like I?m dreaming.”Newson is one of three seniors who have grown up on the basketball court in the Cavanagh Field House. They have led the Bulldogs from their sophomore season on, and this year it all came to fruition. Along with Stinson and Diondra Woumn, Newson (as well as Makayla Everette) was not going to be denied.The win didn?t come without its share of histrionics. The Raiders — defending state champions — made sure English worked for this, coming from a 14-point first-half deficit to take a couple of leads in the fourth quarter.No problem. At least not according to Woumn.?I kept thinking this game was ours,” she said. “We were a team. We sold out for one another.?Our coach (Fred Hogan) always says defense wins championships and the offense will come,” Woumn said. “They (Central) had a great team. But we wanted it more. I?m convinced of that.”Perhaps more than the other two, this game came down to whatever Stinson could give her team. It turns out she gave the Bulldogs a lot. She scored 22 points, handled the ball flawlessly for most of the game, and hit big shot after big shot.And she was exhausted.?Yeah, I was,” she said. “But I had confidence in my team. I knew I could depend on them.”Stinson noted that as the game wore down, and Central threatened to spoil it all, the Bulldogs kept their heads.?We took our time with the ball,” she said, “and we made smart decisions.”She was also under no illusions, back in the second quarter when the Bulldogs were up by 14 points, that this was going to be an easy game.?I had a feeling they were going to come back,” she said.