HAVERHILL — Defense, rebounding and determination were the keys to victory for the Winthrop girls basketball team Thursday night, as the No. 6 Vikings knocked off No. 3 Whittier Tech by a score of 55-39 in the Division 3 North quarterfinal.
“We really came to play on the defensive end,” said Winthrop coach Joe Lowe. “Julia Marccocio stepped up and covered (Whitter’s) best player all night and made things tough, and she set the tone for us. From there, we just were able to make a bunch of big plays at the right times.”
Maura Dorr had a massive game for Winthrop, putting up a huge double-double with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Lily Pulsifer led the way in scoring with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Maddie Stiglets had six points and three rebounds. Julia Marccocio (four points, one rebound) and Caroline Earl (three points, seven rebounds) also played well in the win.
“We had everyone contribute,” Lowe said. “Carolyn Kinsella, the smallest girl on our team, came into the game and took two charges. That kind of stuff sets the tone and gets everyone going. It was a full team effort from us.”
The game was back and forth from the opening tip. After the two teams exchanged the lead a couple of times in the early minutes, Winthrop took a 9-4 lead behind some strong defense and a big 3-pointer from Pulsifer. At the end of the first, the Vikings held a 14-10 lead.
But Whittier continued to make a game of it, tying the game at 14-14 just 30 seconds into the second quarter. From there, the two teams battled through three ties and three lead changes up to halftime. But Whittier ended up having the ball last in the half, and the Wildcats were able to take a slim 24-23 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter saw more back-and-forth action in the beginning, but then Winthrop made its move. After jumping ahead 29-28, the Vikings closed the quarter with a 16-6 run to grab their largest lead of the night at 11 points, 45-34.
“In the first half, Whittier was playing a kind of triangle type of defense and we were settling for threes,” said Lowe. “But in the second half we just started to attack. Maura was able to get to the rim a bunch and give us some huge points, and so was Lily.”
That momentum continued right into the fourth, as Winthrop gained a firm hold of the game and never let it go. Behind huge plays on defense and the scoring of Dorr and Pulsifer, the Vikings extended their lead to as many as 17 points before cruising to victory.
But the journey isn’t over, as Winthrop (15-7) now moves on to face the winner of No. 2 Amesbury/No. 10 Watertown in the Division 3 North semifinal at a date and time to be announced.
“Both teams are really strong and really well-coached, so we know we’ll be in for a battle,” said Lowe. “We’ll probably head over to the game Friday to scout them and then take things from there. We’re going to try to keep up the intensity by having some alumni come in and scrimmage at practice, and we’ll try to go out and get another win.”
