Winthrop gets its long-awaited North title

LOWELL – Talented players like Courtney and Kristen Finn and so many others never got a chance to play for or win a North title in a Winthrop uniform.
Getting over that hump took a senior-laden team that showed its big game experience Saturday at the Tsongas Center as the Vikings defeated Bishop Fenwick, 36-35, to win the Division 3 North title and earn a trip to TD Garden on Tuesday at 2:15 p.m against Archbishop Williams in a state semifinal.
?Our experience really helped us at the end,” Winthrop coach Ignacio Oyola said. “A lot of these girls have been together since the eighth grade.”
Getting to the finish line proved to be extremely difficult for both teams Saturday as they took turns giving away chances to take the trophy.
Winthrop (20-3) held a 36-33 lead with just over a minute to go and had possession but misfired on a shot, giving Fenwick a chance to tie things up.
Lexi Rose’s three-ball from the right wing was all air and Winthrop pulled down the board and called timeout with 46.3 seconds left. The Vikings, however, had Colleen Corcoran deflect the ball off Nina Bartlette’s leg, giving the ball back to Fenwick.
The Crusaders couldn’t take advantage of the break as they turned it right back over with 36.8 seconds left to go.
?That last minute was a little indicative of us being such a young team,” Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis said. “You can’t simulate that situation in practice. That’s why you see the turnovers and all the missed free throws.”
The insanity wasn’t over yet as Winthrop was called for a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds, giving the Crusaders another chance to make it interesting. Corcoran did so when she banked home a shot with 18 seconds left that cut Winthrop?s lead to 36-35.
Fenwick had to foul, putting Maura Lanza at the line for a one-and-one with 10.2 seconds left. She missed the first shot and Fenwick?s Mikayla Porcaro was fouled on the rebound, giving her a chance to tie or put the Crusaders in front.
Porcaro, however, got the back iron with her first shot and Kristen Siscamanis was able to grab the rebound and was fouled with 5 seconds left. She again missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Fenwick a last chance. But Sam Mancinelli was stripped just over half court to finally allow the Vikings to celebrate.
?I thought that we played well for the most part,” DeBaggis said. “Except for that last minute and a little bit of the sloppiness we had early.”
After trailing by as much as 7 in the first half, Fenwick rallied to cut the deficit to 17-16 at the half thanks to 7 second-quarter points by Sydney Brennan.
Brennan continued her hot shooting at the start of the third, knocking down back-to-back treys before Corcoran scored inside to give Fenwick an 8-0 run and force a Winthrop timeout.
The Vikings came out of the timeout determined to get back to their inside game and it paid off, as Siscamanis and Bartlette helped key an 11-4 run that sent the teams to the fourth quarter in a 28-28 tie.
?We called that timeout and told the girls to just settle down,” Oyola said. “We wanted to get back to going inside and moving the ball around. Fortunately, it worked.”
Brennan’s 18 points led all scorers in the game. Corcoran added 10 points for Fenwick (16-7) before she fouled out in the final seconds.Winthrop was led by 12 points from both Siscamanis and Bartlette and 6 by Ali Love, including a three-pointer early in the fourth that gave Winthrop the lead for good.