LYNN — To conclude the third quarter of Friday night’s girls basketball game between host St. Mary’s and Cathedral, senior guard Yirsy Queliz set her feet, rose up, held her follow through, and buried a three-pointer to cap off an 18-0 Spartans run.
The bleachers shook and hands clapped for the Spartans’ effort. With the final score favoring St. Mary’s 52-33, the Spartans avenged their two-point loss to Cathedral from just weeks ago.
“The best thing that happened to us was what happened three weeks ago at Cathedral,” St. Mary’s head coach Jeff Newhall said.
With six minutes remaining in the third, St. Mary’s fell behind for the first time since tip-off, 21-19. Instead of repeating history and giving up another game to Cathedral, the Spartans turned it around.
The run began with Reese Matela (11 points, 10 rebounds) finishing at the basket, followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Kellyn Preira (16 points) and Queliz.
“[It was] the score and the pace of the game. I think they [Panthers] started getting tired, they wore down,” Newhall said.
Then, there was a play that didn’t show up on the statsheet. Senior Niya Morgen dove face-first for a loose ball near the Spartans’ bench and Newhall called a timeout to keep possession. The St. Mary’s bench erupted alongside a fist-pumping Newhall.
“When she [Morgen] dove on the floor, that may have changed the momentum of the game,” Newhall said. “She didn’t score a ton of points tonight, so to be able to do that just shows she’s a pretty complete basketball player.”
From there, the momentum never stopped. In the fourth quarter, junior AJ Hyacinthe connected on three consecutive layups to put St. Mary’s ahead 50-31. Cathedral upped its full-court press, but to little success.
A ferocious block from Preira later, and time expired on Cathedral. St. Mary’s avenged its 55-53 loss to Cathedral in December and turned it around with a 52-33 victory.
“Our defensive effort was excellent, they had to work for everything they got,” Newhall said.
Despite the lop-sided final score, things were far closer as frustration built up for St. Mary’s in the first half. On one play, Newhall showed his emotion after the Spartans let up an offensive rebound – one of many times it happened in the first half.
“The ball is bouncing three, four times and we’re looking at it,” Newhall said. “Now it’s as simple as going to get it and we weren’t doing it.”
Preira impressed in the first half. In the first quarter alone, she finished at the rim, drilled a three, and blocked a shot, showing her versatility on both ends. Matela also caught eyes with her strength and rebounding.
“Her [Matela] and Kellyn [Preira] kept us in the game in the first half,” Newhall said. “That’s the most she’s [Matela] played in a big game. She’s only a sophomore but she finished around the hoop, her free throws were great, and I thought she did a lot of really good things on defense as well.”
“I was happy to get out of the half,” Newhall said.
But as soon as the team in its home white jerseys took the floor for the second half, it was a different story. Newhall said the Spartans have been talking about Cathedral all week, and challenged his girls to play with that same passion.
“To me, it’s energy [and] heart,” Newhall said.
The Spartans return to action on Monday at North Andover with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m.
