Girls’ Basketball: Classical shakes off the rust to beat Gloucester

After not touching a basketball since last Saturday, the Lynn Classical girls shook off the rust and played some great defense on their way to a solid win, 44-35, over Gloucester Thursday.
?Our legs were a little unsteady for a while, but the kids really responded in the third quarter,” said Classical coach Tom Sawyer.
It was the third quarter when the Rams (7-8) really got the rust off and started playing better as a team, led by Chenysse Hill and Heidi Milhelm on offense. Hill scored 16 points in the win and Milhelm followed close behind with 10 points. There was good balance behind those two, with six other players registering points in the game.
Sawyer was happy with his team?s defensive efforts.
?We really did a good job of limiting their chances,” he said. “We couldn?t convert the turnovers into points, but we played well defensively.”
St. Mary?s 52, Austin Prep 26
The Spartans clinched a state tournament berth with a convincing win over Austin Prep. With the win, St. Mary?s improves to 11-3.
The Spartans were led by freshmen in this contest, with guard Marnelle Garraud dropping 13 points and forward Olivia Nazaire recording 11. Garraud also added five assists.
Sophomore forward Temi Falayi was right behind with 10 points, but pulled down an impressive 13 rebounds and added four blocks.
Spartans? coach Jeff Newhall was pleased with his team?s offense,
?We?ve been balanced the whole year,” he said. “We have five players averaging 8-12 points. When you have more spread-out scoring, it?s harder to stop you.”
The defense was the key to this win. St. Mary?s only gave up four points in the second half after giving up 22 in the first. Only one Austin Prep player scored in double figures, with 10 points. The lock-down defense helped the Spartans coast to an easy victory. The Spartans now sets their sights on the state tournament, and Newhall knows they need to get better.
?We need to play with a little more emotion and less sloppy,” he said, “But today we got out and did what we had to do.”
Somerville 52, Saugus 43
The Sachems (1-13) held a 21-17 lead at halftime but went cold from the floor in the second half as they were outscored, 35-22.
Mikayla Niles led Saugus with 14 points while Olivia Valente added 12 and Katie Sheehan seven.
Arlington Catholic 55, Bishop Fenwick 45
Fenwick just didn?t have enough firepower to get past defending state champion Arlington Catholic Thursday. After three quarters, Fenwick (9-5) was down by 24 points. The Crusaders made a big run at the end with 23 points in the fourth quarter, but they had already dug themselves too big a hole.
After the game, Fenwick head Adam DeBaggis said,
?We played a great first and fourth quarter,” said Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis. “But we didn?t play a complete game.”Sydney Brennan had a team-high 16 points for the Crusaders, while captain Colleen Corcoran scored 11 points.