PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Revere’s Pamela Gonzalez drives around Classical’s Soneta Srey to the basket.
By HAROLD RIVERA
REVERE — In a clash between two powerhouse teams, sometimes the unexpected players are the ones who become the heroes. Malcolm Butler served as a prime example when his game winning interception in Super Bowl XLIX sealed the deal for the New England Patriots.
Friday night, freshman Erika Cheever was the hero in the Revere girls basketball team’s 55-53 win over Classical at Roland Merullo Field House.
With the game tied at 53-53, Cheever drew a foul with 1.6 seconds left in the game and swished both free throws to keep the Patriots undefeated at 15-0.
“She’s (Cheever) a solid foul shooter,” Revere coach Lianne O’Hara said. “I’m glad that she got fouled at the right time.”
“It was an exciting game,” O’Hara added. “I think we tend to get a little comfortable when we have a big lead and it’s easy to lose it.”
Classical overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter and took its first lead of the game at 53-52 after Tyarah Horton hit a free throw with 10 seconds remaining.
Although the Rams suffered a tough loss, coach Tom Sawyer was proud of his team’s effort. Classical was 10 seconds away from defeating Revere, the top-ranked team in the state.
“I was extremely proud of how they fought,” Sawyer said. “We took the No. 1 team in the state to the final whistle.”
After an uneventful first quarter that ended in a 5-5 tie, the Patriots offense began to heat up in the second period. Valentina Pepic hit a trio of jumpers in the early minutes of the quarter and Tatianna Iacoviello followed her teammate’s lead, knocking in a pair of threes and jump shot to give Revere a ten-point lead at 19-9.
With the game slipping away, Sawyer called a timeout and the Rams responded with a 10-4 run. Paris Wilkey, who led all scorers with 25 points, nailed a three at the buzzer and Classical was back in the game, down 23-19.
“We changed our defense a little bit and I think that helped,” Sawyer said. “We made some shots. That’s all it comes down to, you have to make some shots.”
The Patriots came out firing in the third quarter, with an 11-4 spurt to start the period. Samantha Woodman led the rally with a pair of buckets and Emily DiGiulio added a three, giving the Patriots 34-23 lead midway through the third. Revere maintained its 11-point advantage at the end of the quarter as the Patriots led 40-29.
Iacoviello hit a jumper to start the fourth quarter, giving Revere its largest lead of the night at 42-30. That’s when the Rams woke up and clawed back in.
Down 52-49, the Rams leaned to their top scorer, Wilkey, who knocked in a three to tie the game with three minutes to play.
“She (Wilkey) has ice water in her veins,” Sawyer said. “She just knocked it down.”
“She competed,” Sawyer added. “She went after everything. She shot the ball well in spurts but the biggest thing is she competed. Paris wanted to win this game bad for her and her teammates.”
Horton’s make from the charity stripe gave the Rams a 53-52 lead, but the advantage was short lived as Cheever’s late heroics gave the Patriots the win.
“We knew that to beat this team we had to score points,” Sawyer said. “We knew we weren’t going to hold them to stay in the 40’s, or even the 30’s. We scored 53, we just needed 56.”
Pepic led the way for Revere with a double-double at 22 points and 10 rebounds.
“She had some good range-shooting,” O’Hara said. “She’s usually more in the post, but she showed her range tonight and she made her shots.”
Iacoviello scored ten points and dished four assists. Cheever scored five points, including the game-winners.
For Classical, Irianis Delgado scored 14 points and Soneta Srey added eight.
“I give Classical a lot of credit,” O’Hara said. “Those girls worked really hard, and they didn’t quit.”
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday when Revere hosts English and Classical hosts Danvers.
