St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall reached a milestone when his Spartans defeated Arlington Catholic on Friday night at Conigliaro Gymnasium. With the 64-34 victory over the Cougars, Newhall earned his 250th career win as a head coach.
“I’m halfway through season 16,” Newhall said. “You don’t get to this milestone because you’re a great coach. You get to it because you have great players. The most important takeaway is that we have a great program at St. Mary’s with great kids, and that’s the case now. I coached three seasons at Marblehead and 13 now. That’s a lot of great players through 16 seasons. It’s about the kids, not me.”
Pam Gonzalez led St. Mary’s with 18 points, continuing an impressive stretch of play. Olivia Nazaire logged a double-double at 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Olivia Matela scored 13 points off the bench.
“This is the best game Olivia (Matela) has played,” Newhall said. “She had three 3-pointers, a couple two’s and played unbelievable defensively. She keyed the runs and she worked at it. She helped us capitalize against an opponent that we really wanted to beat. We lost to Arlington by 20 earlier this season and that game helped us improve. To turn things around by 50 points means we’re doing something right.
“Arlington Catholic’s a tremendous opponent,” Newhall added. “Tonight was about our team and the kids. When we play with great energy, we’re a great team and the kids really showed that tonight.”
The Spartans improved to 9-4 with the win and host Tewksbury on Monday night (6:30).
Saugus 53, English 45 (OT)
Saugus was led by 17 points from Alessia Salzillo, 12 from Molly Granara, nine from Taylor Bogdanski and eight from Marissa Stockwell.
The Sachems (6-5) host Triton Monday.
“It was a crazy game that had everything,” Saugus coach Mark Schruender said. “The kids were so tough in tough moments tonight. It’s a credit to our leaders. Our captains really set the tone for our team tonight.”
English was led by Maylin Echevarria’s 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Stacy Abreu notched a double-double at 12 points and 12 rebounds and Julianna Perry scored eight points with five assists.
“The girls played hard against a really good team,” Bulldogs coach Mackenzie Charles said. “We just couldn’t finish at the end. We’ve been on the road the last nine games so the girls were excited to play at home.”
English visits Revere Tuesday.
Classical 71, Gloucester 29
Irianis Delgado led Classical with 22 points, 20 of which were scored in the first half. Skyler Crayton added 11 points and Chloe Kebreau scored 10. Of the 11 Rams players that saw minutes in the win, 10 scored.
The Rams (13-1) are at Malden Tuesday.
Cathedral 66, Fenwick 58
Sammi Gallant scored 15 points with five rebounds and five assists. Jennie Meagher added 12 points with six blocks and five assists, Liz Gonzalez finished with 10 points and Fredi DeGuglielmo scored eight points with three assists and two steals.
Fenwick (7-6) hosts Spellman Tuesday.
Danvers 50, Marblehead 30
Danvers’ Hailey Chisholm led the Falcons with 10 points and Siobhan Moriarty added eight.
The Falcons (9-2) are at Gloucester Tuesday.
Marblehead’s Hannah Garthe scored nine points. Emily Clough, Darcy O’Sullivan and Fehr Gillett played well under the basket with six rebounds a piece.
Marblehead visits Winthrop Tuesday.
Revere 55, Swampscott 44
Nikki Rosa led Swampscott with 19 points and eight rebounds. Brooke Stout scored eight points and Grace DiGrande added five points with six rebounds and six assists.
Salem Academy 40, South Shore 36
Hannah Magee scored 14 points with five rebounds and Elise Cote scored nine points and dished five assists.
WRESTLING
St. John’s Prep 31, Framingham 26
St. John’s Prep 39, North Andover 36
In the first annual Commonwealth Cup, winners for the Eagles were Nick Curley (106 pounds), Ryan Garlitz (132), Zach Alexander (138), Max Rodriguez (220) and Chad Barnes-Felix (285). The Eagles are 27-4 on the season.
