North runs away to take Agganis All-Star game

LYNN – The players on the court were no longer officially high schoolers, all having recently graduated. But the 11th Annual Agganis All-Star Girls? Basketball Game on Monday at Lynn Classical High School offered each of them one final appearance as high school players as thee North team routed the South, 51-21.
The North team, consisting of players from Beverly, Manchester-Essex, Masconomet, Pentucket and Salem, was up by only four points heading into the half. But 31 points in the second half, while holding the South to only five, was what the North needed to secure the victory in the kickoff to Agganis week.
Winthrop, who lost in the state semifinals this past season, had three players on the Agganis South roster with sisters Niki and Polixeni Tsiotos and Northeastern Conference MVP Kristen Siscamanis. Siscamanis added another MVP plaque to her collection, taking home the MVP award for the South team. Siscamanis scored 12 of the South?s 21 points.
?It was all fun and games, and it was pretty heated playing with (Peabody?s Courtney Bua and Danielle Sullivan), having played them in the regular season,” Siscamanis joked.
Siscamanis was a huge part of Winthrop?s deep postseason run. The forward is committed to Caldwell College in New Jersey, receiving a full scholarship to play basketball.
?She?s been vital to our success,” said Ignacio Oyola, Siscamanis?s coach at Winthrop and in the Agganis Classic. “She?s worked so hard, and she?s a great player.”
Oyola and his entire Winthrop coaching staff were at the helm of the Agganis South team. It was Oyola?s first time as a coach in the Agganis tournament, and he said it was a unique experience with even more unique challenges.
?I just wanted them to enjoy themselves, since it?s the last high school game for everyone,” said Oyola. “They?re all such good players, probably conference All-Stars in their respective conferences. I think in a game like this, it?s tough to show their individual strengths. Some girls who are great shooters only put up a couple shots, and hung back more as facilitators. They all played very unselfishly, which was great to see.”
The team boasted the best players in the South, including girls from Peabody High School, Pope John XXIII, Northeast Tech, Medford High, Mystic Valley, Bishop Fenwick and Winthrop.
Peabody?s Bua came up with five points for the North, and Mystic Valley?s Jessica Phinney sunk a free throw. Lexie Rose, also from Peabody, scored two points.
For the North, it was a chance to show off some of its best athletes, as well as a rare opportunity for two rival schools to play on the same team.
Masconomet and Pentucket battled all season long, but in the end, four Masco players (Meghan Collins, Amy Fogarty, Kate Kitsakos and Nicole Taparo) joined forces with Pentucket?s McKenna Kilian and Kelsi McNamara to rout the South.
?We?ve been battling them for years,” Agganis North and Masco coach Bob Romeo said. “I was confident in our team because I knew the way the Pentucket girls played so well.”
McNamara grabbed the North MVP award with 18 points in the Agganis game. Tapparo added five points and Fogarty sunk two baskets. Salem?s Jackie Panneton contributed five points to the North?s offensive explosion.
Romeo was at the helm of the North team in last year?s Agganis tournament, but the outcome was much different. In 2014, the South bested the North, 74-51.
?It was fun,” Romeo said of the experience. “It was nice to be on the other side of things this year.”Katie Morrison may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatieMo61.