Duchane jamboree entertains as always

LYNN ? For 16 Lynn-area girls basketball teams, Saturday’s Paul Duchane Jamboree provided a final chance to work out the kinks before the regular season begins for some of them as early as tonight.
There also was the added excitement of having the reigning Division 3 state champion, St. Mary’s, as a part of the field.
The Spartans were the headliners as they faced a Marblehead team that is expected to make some noise in the Northeastern Conference this season. Perhaps the biggest question facing St. Mary’s was how would it replace the departed Brianna Rudolph, Jennie Mucciarone and Sharell Sanders.
Freshman Marnelle Garraud stepped in and provided nine points and solid play at the point as the Spartans took a 26-14 win over the Magicians.
?I thought that we were able to dictate the pace,” St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall said. “We are still a work in progress but Marnelle is going to be an important player for us.”
The Magicians were able to hang tough with the defending champs through most of the first eight-minute half but back-to-back layups by Garraud in the final 20 seconds gave St. Mary’s a 14-7 lead at the break.
The Spartans built on that lead thanks to inside dominance from Temi Falayi and Amanda Idusuyi along with the slashing penetration of guard Kayla Carter. St. Mary’s eventually put together a 12-0 run that turned the game into a 22-7 margin that the Magicians couldn’t recover from.
Mia Bongiorno led Marblehead with five points.
Medford 27, Classical 16
The host Rams hung tough with the Mustangs — who are coached by Saugus? Leo Burke — out of the Greater Boston League but went cold in the second half as Medford opened with a 10-0 run to break open a 10-8 game at the half.
Despite the outcome, Classical coach Tom Sawyer still liked what he saw.
?The girls played hard and that’s what we asked of them,” Sawyer said. “There were times that our inexperience showed. But I also liked our youthful exuberance.”
Classical led through most of the first half, but the Mustangs? inside dominance began to take over as they closed with six of the last eight points. Medford eventually pushed the lead to 20-8 and cruised home from there.
Jeylly Medrano and Paris Wilkey led Classical with four points each.
Fenwick 29, English 11
The Bulldogs, under first-year coach Rachel Bradley, struggled mightily against Fenwick’s tough defense as they managed only three field goals over 16 minutes. Fenwick, meanwhile, got 11 points from Colleen Corcoran and outscored the Bulldogs, 18-5, in the second half.
Nairobis Rodriguez led English with four points. Starting guard Divinya Robinson dd not play, but she is expected to be on the floor when the Bulldogs opens up Tuesday night against Peabody.
?We’ve still got a lot to work on,” Bradley said. “We were missing a big piece without Divinya out there. We are a much different team with her in there.”
Swampscott 17, Somerville 14
The Big Blue defense was rock solid most of the way for new coach Katelyn Leonard, but they had to hang on down the stretch as Somerville missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.
Hannah Leahy led Swampscott with four points as the Big Blue ran out to a 9-1 lead in the first half and led 17-8 in the late going before the Highlanders closed on a 6-0 run.
Malden 29, Saugus 22
In the opening game of the day, the Sachems and Golden Tornadoes went back and forth for most of the 16 minutes but it was a 7-0 run late in the second half that gave Malden the cushion it needed to take the win.
Rachel Nazzaro led Saugus? balanced attack with five points, and Allie Kotkowski and Kathryn White chipped in with four each.
Masconomet 35, Peabody 17
It was raining threes for the Chieftains as they knocked down five in the first half to take a 20-7 lead on a rebuilding Tanners team playing its first minutes with new coach Stan McKeen. Masco finished the game with six threes while its always-tough defense held the Tanners to only six field goals