LYNN — The Lynn Classical girls basketball team brought the defensive intensity all game long Thursday, and despite a late run by rival Lynn English, the Rams were able to hang on for a 43-34 victory in a Greater Boston League bout at Paul F. Cavanagh Field House.
“We came out with a press defense to start, and I think that really shook things up a bit,” said Classical coach Tom Sawyer. “But shortly after that, we decided to go back to our bread and butter, which is man-to-man defense. We were able to rely on that the rest of the way and hang on to get the win.”
Lauren Wilson led the scoring attack for the Rams with 14 points and four rebounds, while Ava Thurman was close behind with 12 points, five rebounds and six steals. Lauren Hennessey added 11 points and two rebounds, while Reese Brinkler (four points, 11 rebounds) and Molly Mannion (two points) also played well in the win, while Keisha Perez came off the bench to play some key minutes late in the game when Thurman got caught up in foul trouble.
“Our guards really carried us tonight, but that’s not to say that Molly and Reese didn’t also have big games,” said Sawyer. “Being able to get contributions from everyone in our lineup is key to our success, and that’s what we got (Thursday).”
The scoring for English was really spread out, with Makenzie Acevado leading the way with nine points and seven rebounds. Jari Perez put up eight points off the bench, while Rosie Chheang had six points and four rebounds and Amara Flores had four points and one rebound. Matty Laurino (two points, five rebounds), Jaeleigh Perry (two points, five rebounds) and Nia Sams (two points, three rebounds) also played well for the Bulldogs.
“In a game like this, it’s the 50-50 balls that make the difference in the game, and we just weren’t able to win enough of those,” said English coach Travonne Berry-Rogers. “But I loved our effort and energy all game long, and the fact that we battled until the very last second is a good sign moving forward.”
The game was a defensive struggle from the very beginning, with both teams struggling to score points for most of the first quarter. Despite that, the two sides remained close the whole way and actually traded the lead two different times. But the Rams took control in the late minutes of the quarter, and by the end of the first Classical led 17-5.
Despite the Rams pushing their lead to as many as 12 points in the second quarter, English caught fire and went on a run of its own. Still, Classical was able to steady the ship and go into the halftime break with a 26-15 lead.
The third quarter went by in a similar fashion, and the Rams took a nine-point lead into the fourth. But that’s when things got interesting.
The Bulldogs went on a run of incredible defensive play, forcing a number of Classical turnovers and chipping away at the deficit. By the time there were three minutes to go, it was a five-point game (32-37) in favor of Classical.
But, just when the Rams needed it, Hennessey stepped up and knocked down a critical 3-pointer to stretch the lead back out to eight points and effectively seal the win. Classical knocked down a number of free throws from there, holding on to notch the rivalry victory.
English (5-1) returns to the court Monday (6:30) for a makeup game against St. Mary’s.
“We’re trying to establish and build a top-tier, high quality program, and to be the best you’ve got to play and beat the best,” said Berry-Rogers. “St. Mary’s is an incredible team and Jeff Newhall is an incredible coach, but we want this. We’ll hit the practice court starting (Friday) and we’ll keep working until Monday’s game.”
Classical (6-1) hosts Somerville Tuesday night (7).
“It’s going to be another tough test, because high-school basketball is always like that,” said Sawyer. “We’ll enjoy this one tonight, but then we’ll gear up and start working towards Tuesday’s matchup. We still have plenty of room to improve, which is a good thing.”
