ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Classical’s Paris Wilkey has to fight through Mashayla Johnson’s reach to get to the hoop.
By KATIE MORRISON
LYNN – The Lynn Classical girls’ basketball team was firing on all cylinders against rival Lynn English, topping the Bulldogs, 57-35, at home Tuesday.
The Rams (6-3) had three players reach double figures in scoring, with sophomore forward Paris Wilkey netting a game-high 19 points. Junior guard Soneta Srey scored 17 points and sophomore guard Jeylly Medrano chipped in with 10 points.
The Bulldogs (1-5) scored the first three points of the game with Mashayla Johnson draining a three after English won the tip-off. But from that point on, it was all Classical.
Srey snatched up an offensive rebound and sent it back up to the basket to get the Rams on the board. Medrano gave the Rams a 4-3 lead with a layup.
A layup and two free throws from Srey gave the Rams some breathing room. Srey then grabbed a defensive rebound and launched a pass to Wilkey, who took the ball to the hoop on a fast break to give the Rams a 10-3 lead.
Seven points from Wilkey and six from Srey in the first quarter gave the Rams a comfortable 18-4 lead heading into the second.
Part of the Bulldogs’ game plan included putting pressure on Classical senior guard Chenysse Hill. They did just that, limiting Hill to only two points. But the Rams found other ways to score.
“Chenysse Hill, she only scored two points tonight, but she runs the show for us and makes us go,” said Classical coach Tom Sawyer. “(English) tried to do some things to take her out of the game, and that opened up some things for some other players, and that’s what a team is all about.”
“I thought that we didn’t come out with enough intensity tonight (and) that we kind of started flat, and obviously Classical is a great team,” said English coach Rachel Bradley. “Paris Wilkey hurt us. Paris is a great player, and she took advantage of that. I can’t fault them for anything. We didn’t play to our potential tonight.”
A big second quarter from Wilkey gave the Rams a 33-10 lead at the half. Wilkey scored 10 points in the quarter, with Medrano adding three and Tyarah Horton adding two.
The Bulldogs wouldn’t go quietly, and fought until the very end, when Tommi Hill unleashed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
“No matter what, we’re still going to fight for 32 minutes, even if we’re down by 30 or 40, we’re going to keep playing,” said Bradley. “We were playing full court defense even at the end of the game here. I give my kids a lot of credit for staying in it, there was a lot of energy still, but we have to start faster.”
The Rams were able to get some bench players valuable minutes, and Horton, especially, took advantage, scoring five points.
“She’s getting better and better as the year goes on,” Sawyer said of the sophomore.
For English, Johnson, who Bradley calls “a rising star,” led the team with 10 points. Sophomore point guard Ely Guity chipped in with eight points and sophomore Dorothy Ezemba added seven.
Katie Morrison can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatieMo61.
