As the No. 9 seed, the Beverly girls? basketball team couldn?t have expected to play on its home court in the Division 1 North tournament. But that was precisely the case on Monday.
The Panthers (16-6) didn?t waste the opportunity, defeating No. 16 Arlington, 56-55, to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1999 – the same year Beverly coach Allison Flynn, then playing for Salem, helped beat the Panthers twice during the regular season.
?I wasn?t even aware of it,” said Flynn, whose sole focus is now on Wednesday?s matchup with fourth-seeded Billerica at Whittier Tech in Haverhill (7).
?This was an extremely intense basketball game against a very young and well-coached team. We?re going to go into our next game prepared for the same kind of atmosphere.”
Olivia George scored the last of her 13 points on a free throw with 46 seconds to give Beverly the lead before a wild final sequence gave way to the final buzzer.
The Spy Ponders were whistled on an offensive foul and an over-the-back call before missing on a desperation heave following Beverly?s missed free-throw attempt.
?This was a team effort from start to finish but I have to give (George) a lot of credit for really stepping up tonight,” said Flynn. “She got herself into her prime scoring positions tonight and delivered an incredible game.”
Ashley Augulewicz finished with a team-high 14 points for the Panthers while Melissa Lubas (12) finished in double figures along with Jess Cross (11) who set up George?s winning shot with the tying basket shortly before.
BOYS? BASKETBALL
Danvers 64, Latin Academy 48
Vinny Clifford (10 rebounds) and Devan Harris (six rebounds) scored 21 points apiece to propel the No.1 Falcons into the semifinals of the Division 2 North tournament, where they will meet No.4 Brighton on Wednesday in Woburn (7).
Danvers (23-0) led by just five points entering the final quarter before a strong defensive effort from Mike Nestor took its toll on the visiting Dragons.
?We didn?t come out as strong as I?d hoped for but the kids bared down in the defensive end and stuck with the game plan for a nice win,” said Falcons coach John Walsh.
Brighton 63, Salem 44
The Witches? great season came to an end Monday night in the Division 2 North quarterfinals against Brighton. The loss leaves Salem at 17-7 for the year.
Salem only trailed by three points after the first quarter, but they had trouble scoring in the second and Brighton was able to extend the lead.
?They did a great job in the second quarter. You?ve got to give them credit,” said Salem coach Tom Doyle. “We couldn?t get any offense going and they were able to pull way ahead.”
After falling behind by 18 points at the half, it was a game of catch-up for the Witches, and they just couldn?t make a comeback.Kelven Perpetuo was the leading scorer for the Witches with 12 points. Argenis Luna also had a great game off the bench, just missing a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds. The Sanchez brothers, Michael and Alex, contributed as well, with seven and five points, respectively.