Spartans, Rams to meet for Boverini girls’ crown

LYNN – TheWalter J. Boverini Basketball Tournament tipped off Friday morning at Lynn Tech with back-to-back girls? semifinals. In the first game, Lynn Classical took a 56-12 win over host Lynn Tech. In the second contest, St. Mary?s overcame a sluggish first quarter in its 56-26 victory over Lynn English.
The Spartans struggled to match the energy and intensity displayed by the Bulldogs immediately following tip-off, trailing, 11-9, after the opening eight minutes. But St. Mary?s settled down and figured things out in the second period, outscoring English, 22-4, to take a 29-13 lead into the halftime break.
?You have to give lots of credit to coach (Rachael) Bradley and English for coming out as strong as they did,” said Spartans coach Jeff Newhall. “We were still celebrating Christmas in the first quarter but once we started creating a pace and scoring the basketball we really loosened up.”
Olivia Nazaire, a freshman forward from Peabody, put together her best offensive effort of the season for St. Mary?s, scoring 14 points to tie fellow freshman, guard Marnelle Garraud of Lynn, for the game high.
?She plays the game well beyond her years,” Newhall said of Nazaire. “Olivia has a very high basketball IQ and it was one of the keys to the turnaround in the first half. We put her in the middle of English?s aggressive zone defense which she was able to break down.”
Forward Gianna Moschella, a junior from Peabody, added nine points in the win.
Bradley spoke on her team?s tremendous start.
?We played a great first quarter, but as I?ve told the girls all year, we have to carry over the effort into all four periods,” she said. “Ultimately, we played hard but got tired out and that can?t happen. From here on out, we need to dig in and finish games better.”
Freshman Waleska Muriel scored 12 points to pace the Bulldogs which got a trio of three-pointers from sophomore Kosama Chhay.
In the opener, Classical controlled the tempo from start to finish, outscoring the Tigers 19-2 in the first quarter. Tech was held to five points or fewer in all four periods.
?No matter the final score, you can still take something out of every game,” said Rams coach Tom Sawyer whose team led by 17 at halftime before matching that number in the ensuing two quarters. “I?m very proud of the focus that the girls brought to today?s game,” Sawyer said.
Senior Heidi Milhelm scored six first-quarter points on the way to finishing tied for a team-high of 10 with freshmen Maryah Chandler and Paris Wilkey, who scored all five of her field goals in the second half.
?Heidi tends to be a match-up problem for a lot of teams because of her height,” said Sawyer. “She?s developed a soft touch around the basket to compliment her ability to pull down offensive rebounds which was big for us in the early going.”
Sawyer lauded the efforts of Chandler and Wilkey as well as freshman Jeylly Medrano, who scored six of her eight points in the second half.
?They both played well, especially in the second half,” he said. “It?s a big step from middle school to high school basketball but they have both transitioned well. This is a team that relies on contributions from all four classes. Depth is always an issue I welcome as a coach.”
Tigers coach, Kaitlyn Wechsler, was satisfied with the overall effort of her group.
?They continue to work hard and I will never knock that,” Wechsler said. “Our offense is a work in progress but there has been head-over-heels improvement since last season.”
Aexia Martinez scored four points to lead Tech, which got three each from sophomore Yafreisis Ruiz and junior Lila Nieves.The girls? portion of the tournament resumes at 10 Saturday morning when English and Tech are paired up before the boys? consolation game. Classical and St. Mary?s face off in the girls? championship match at 1 p.m.