Girls Hoop: Bongiorno’s buzzer beater lifts Marblehead

They say the best offense is a good defense, and for the Marblehead girls? basketball team, a good defensive performance is what separates a win from a loss. After a back-and-forth affair, the Magicians won late, stunning the Fishermen 41-38 in Gloucester.It was a gritty win for Wayne Hanscom’s squadt, as Gloucester came out hard-nosed and tough. For the bulk of the game, both teams played strong defense, holding the offense in check. Hanscom knew his team was in for a challenge.?Playing at Gloucester is tough,” Hanscom said. “They played hard and tough and aggressive.”Though offense was often hard to come by, the Magicians got help from Colby Shea, who scored 10 points to lead the team. Lindsay Walker dominated the rebounding effort, hauling in 14 boards, and Jennie Norcross had a complete game, scoring eight and serving up five assists.With a tough defensive effort, it was always going to come down to the end. With 20 seconds to play, Marblehead was down one point when they got a key turnover in a sequence that sent Walker to the foul line. Walker was able to convert one to tie the score. Shortly after Gloucester took possession, the Magicians, in a feat that lived up to their mascot, forced another turnover with fourteen seconds to go. They had time to work their offense before finding Mia Bongiorno, who buried a three-pointer from behind the arc to pull off the dramatic victory.?We hung in there and created some turnovers at the end,” Hanscom said. “It’s hard to win night in and night out. A lot of teams have the same skill players. We were fortunate.”Peabody 43, Classical 30Both teams struggled offensively, but it was the Tanners that were able to convert when it mattered, as the pulled out a gritty win over the Rams. Sara Hosman lead the Tanners with 13 points, and Katie Wallace chipped in 11. Heidi Milhem led the Rams with nine. Both teams played stout defense, but both coaches knew exactly where their respective teams let opportunities go by.
?We had 49 team rebounds,” Peabody coach Stan McKeen said, “but we had trouble converting on offensive rebounds.”
McKeen, though, was happy to see his man-to-man defense, a shift in philosophy from a year ago, play out well, and he was particularly pleased with the offensive performance of Katie Wallace.?Wallace was excellent,” he said. “She made a big-time contribution.”For Classical coach Tom Sawyer, there was one facet of the game that seemed to have cost his team dearly.?It was close throughout, but unfortunately we were 10-for-30 from the free-throw line,” Sawyer said. “It was poor shooting.”Beverly 38, Lynn English 34
The Bulldogs staged a furious fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers 12-6, but it wasn’t enough. Junior Waleska Muriel scored 12 points for English (0-2), while freshman Dorothy Ezemba scored 11 points wtih10 rebounds and three steals. Beverly (1-1) got a game-high 16 points from Ashley Augulewicz.Lynnfield 49, Georgetown 33
Emma Mancini was dominant for a third straight game, scoring 30 of her team’s 49 points. Mancini has scored at least 25 points in each of Lynnfield’s first three games, leading the Pioneers to a 3-0 overall record, 2-0 in the Cape Ann League. Lynnfield coach Bob Melillo was pleased with Mancini’s exceptional play, but was concerned about how the Pioneers opened the game ? allowing 20 first-period points.
?Defensively, we did not do well in the first quarter, we gave up a lot of points,” Melillo said. “Every game we have started slow. We have an inexperienced team.”
Melillo’s team features two top-six players who were at Lynnfield High last year, but have only just started playing basketball. Despite that, Mancini has ensured that Lynnfield closes strong and pulls away with Ws.
?Emma doesn’t make mistakes,” Melillo said. “If we get her the ball, she scores.”
Fenwick 54, Austin Prep 29
The Crusaders came out in the first with an impenetrable defense, holding Austin Prep to a mere three points in the opening period. From there, it w