LYNNFIELD — Despite coming out with a strong defensive effort and battling blow-for-blow on the glass, the Lynnfield girls basketball team simply couldn’t get its offense going well enough in a 59-33 loss to Newburyport in a Cape Ann League battle Tuesday night.
“I’m really proud of the effort and I love the way we continue to fight for the entire game,” said Lynnfield coach Susan Breen. “Newburyport is 13-1 for a reason, and they’ve got a lot of height and a lot of depth. But we played a lot better this time around than we did the first time, and we turned the ball over a lot less. It was definitely a better performance for us.”
Junior Isabella George led the way with 10 points and three rebounds for the Pioneers, while senior captain Abby Adamo returned to the lineup after missing time with an injury and scored nine points. Sophomore Jaelynn Moon and freshman Erika Pasquale each had four points and five rebounds, while freshman Taylor Valiton notched three points and four rebounds. Senior captain Lucy Cleary scored two points and led the team with seven rebounds.
“It was great to get Abby back, as this was her first game back in more than three weeks, and we got great contributions from up and down the lineup,” said Breen. “Erika played great, Taylor was back and she played really well and Emma Rose also had a great game. It’s always good when those younger players step up and help you as well.”
Although Newburyport got off to a great start and was able to stretch its lead out to as many as 10 points in the first quarter, Lynnfield was right there with them. After the Pioneers went on a small rally to close the quarter, they trailed 22-12.
The second quarter was much of the same, as Lynnfield continued to chip away at the deficit point by point. The Pioneers got as close as to within seven points, but Newburyport held off the rally and took a 30-22 lead into the halftime break.
But things got away from Lynnfield in the second half, as Newburyport started to heat up from the field and locked down on the defensive end. The Clippers’ stellar defensive play led to transition baskets on the other end, and the Pioneers simply couldn’t match the size and speed of the Newburyport squad. After the Clippers stretched the lead out to more than 25 points in the fourth quarter, the reserves entered the game on both sides.
Lynnfield (5-9) is now off until Tuesday (6:30) when it plays on the road at Manchester-Essex.
“We’re just looking to close things out strong,”said breen.”We’ve got a lot of young players who are just now starting to really get comfortable at the varsity level, and we’ve been gaining confidence every day that we play. We’re excited to see what next week holds for us.”