Tournament Roundup: Fenwick girls reach first North final since 2010

You might have gotten pretty good odds against the Bishop Fenwick girls? basketball team making a deep postseason run this year. The Crusaders had to replace almost their entire starting lineup this season but coach Adam DeBaggis? crew has gotten better and better as the year has gone on.
On Tuesday at Essex Tech in Danvers, the Crusaders earned their first trip to the Division 3 North final since 2010 as Sam Mancinelli buried four three-pointers on her way to 15 points while Sydney Brennan added 12 points and six rebounds in a 52-47 win over Manchester-Essex.
?We felt like we had the talent to do well. But it?s nice when it comes to fruition,” DeBaggis said. “We?ve had runs like this in volleyball a bunch so it?s nice to see something like this happen in basketball. This is how good things get built with runs like this.”
The fourth-seeded Crusaders (16-6) had beaten the No. 8 Hornets (14-9), 64-47, in the finals of the MAC Vacation Classic to end the regular season. DeBaggis knew this game was not going to go by the same script.
?The tournament is so much different,” DeBaggis said. “We did a good job of shutting them down the first time.”
Fenwick led 8-4 after the opening quarter and were still up 20-13 late in the second before the Hornets put together a 7-2 half-closing run to lead 22-20 on Eliza Logue?s layup.
Following the trend of its season, the Crusaders came out flying in the third quarter thanks to the tough defense of Colleen Corcoran.
Corcoran, who was a beast on the backboards with 12 rebounds, had three of her four steals in the third quarter. Two of those directly lead to long-range bombs by Mancinelli as Fenwick turned a two-point deficit into a 38-32 lead after three.
?We had a two- or three-minute stretch there where it was steal, basket, steal, basket,” DeBaggis said. “We started getting our press working and it led to some easy baskets.”
The Crusaders held Manchester at arm?s length the rest of the way despite a game-high 19 points from sharpshooting Sydney Christopher and 14 by fellow guard Fraley Morton.
Fenwick owned the backboards all game as Mancinelli added nine rebounds to her 15 points with Lexie Rose having eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.
?We really focused on rebounding and they responded to that,” DeBaggis said.
Fenwick will face Catholic Central League/Large rival St. Mary?s or Winthrop on Saturday at the Tsongas Center in the sectional final. The Crusaders will be looking for their first title since 1990.
?It?s either going to be a team that we?re very familiar with or one that we?ve seen a lot but haven?t gotten to play,” DeBaggis said. “It?s nice to be able to keep on playing.”
GIRLS? HOCKEY
Reading 3, Beverly 0
For the third consecutive season, the Panthers (14-6-1) came up short in the quarterfinal round of the Division 1 tournament.
Beverly controlled play for most of the first period, outshooting the No. 1-seeded Rockets, 10-4. The problem for the Panthers was that Reading scored on three of its four shots as Rachel Thomson, Ali O?Leary and Jamie Melley each beat Madison Jalbert.The Panthers pressed to try to get on the board but couldn?t get anything past goaltender Jess Strack.