LYNNFIELD — When you hold your opponent to five first-quarter points, you know your defense is clicking. When you hold them to zero second-quarter points, that’s even better.
Well, that’s just the way it was for the Lynnfield girls basketball team Wednesday as the No. 28 Pioneers defeated No. 27 Southeastern RVT in the opening round of the Division III state tournament 41-27.
Lynnfield played a 1-2-2 zone press, and from the start, constantly forced the Hawks into turnovers leading to transition points. The Pioneers’ defensive effort led to an early 13-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, they turned it up even more. The Pioneers did not allow a single point in the quarter and, between their press and rebounding, controlled the game on both ends of the floor.
“I thought our defense was great today,” Lynnfield head coach Susan Breen said.
On the offensive end, stepping up was senior captain Isabella George (11 points). Straight from tip-off, she was on a postseason mission.
On the first possession of the game, she connected on a deep three, then stole the ball from the Hawks’ point guard and raced to the basket for a layup. George continued her hot start with another deep three to give the Pioneers an early 8-0 lead.
“I think [her start] was really important,” Breen said. “It just calms everyone else down. She saw opportunities and took them.”
Although it was the smaller team, Lynnfield outrebounded Southeastern as Maggie Ozanian, Jaelynn Moon, and Taylor Valiton controlled the glass from beginning to end.
“On film, it seemed like they were a lot bigger than us, so I told the team we had to make sure to box out,” Breen said. “I’m even a little surprised we did as well as we did on the glass.”
That said, Breen believes her team “missed a lot of easy shots.” However, that could be because Lynnfield has not played a competitive game in 18 days.
The Hawks went on a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter, but Lynnfield’s first-half defense put Southeastern in too deep a hole to climb out of.
“I’m just so excited,” Breen said. “We got to play a game in the tournament, and we got to win a game in the tournament.”
The Pioneers’ next game will be on the road when they travel to face No. 5 Dover-Sherborn on Friday with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Leading scorers (Lynnfield)
George (11)
Emma Rose (10)
Jaelynn Moon (9)
Ozanian (5)
Valiton (4)
Erika Pasquale (2)
