LYNN — In any athletic event, even a lopsided one, there is usually a moment where things at least appear to be up for grabs. Then the winning team goes on its definitive run.
That wasn’t the case Wednesday, at the Paul F. Cavanagh Field House at Lynn English, in the Walter J. Boverini girls basketball tournament final between St. Mary’s and Classical, won by the Spartans, 79-25 — their seventh citywide championship in a row.
St. Mary’s had already sprinted out to a 14-0 lead before Classical got its first basket (its only hoop in the opening quarter). By the time the Rams scored their next points, on an Ava Thurman 3-pointer, St. Mary’s had put 38 on the board.
By halftime, it was 43-7.
“We lost our last game of our Florida trip,” said Spartans coach Jeff Newhall, “and the two games we’ve played since then have been our two best games of the season.
“I thought today we started a little sluggish offensively, but we were playing real good defense right from the start,” Newhall said.
As far as Newhall is concerned, “this is still a city tournament, and we’re always happy when we win it,” he said.
Ten Spartans saw action in Wednesday’s game, and all of them scored. That meant the points were distributed fairly evenly. Niya Morgan led the way with 13 points to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. Also in double figures was Kellyn Preira with 11.
Tournament MVP Yirsy Queliz, a junior point guard, was the director of St. Mary’s offensive output and also scored nine points on three 3-pointers.
For Classical, a second half scoring splurge by freshman guard Keisa Perez (she caught fire for 12 points) gave the Rams a little bit of a lift.
“She has a lot of potential,” said Classical coach Tom Sawyer, “but there’s a lot she has to learn too.”
But Perez’s game spoke volumes to Sawyer about the type of players who can absorb such a lopsided game and still play like it mattered. In that respect, Sawyer liked what he saw.
“We told the girls coming into the game that there would be adversity,” he said. “That is a very good team over there. But I thought we handled ourselves well, and that’s what I told them after the game. I told them I was proud of them.
“It’s really easy to be up, and engaged, when you’re winning, and we’ve done that a lot this year,” said Sawyer. “But it’s harder when you’re on the receiving end.”
Reese Brinkler was Classical’s representative on the all-tournament team. She scored seven points Wednesday. Thurman finished with five.
There was no consolation game, as English forfeited the preliminary game because of a rash of COVID cases. Classical earned its trip to the final with a win Tuesday over Lynn Tech.
Classical (4-1) travels to Medford Tuesday (7).
St. Mary’s (6-1) is right back in action Thursday (5) at home against Bishop Stang.
