LYNN — The South All-Stars turned on the heat in the second half of the 18th Agganis All-Star Girls Basketball Game, defeating the North All-Stars 71-51 Monday night at Lynn Classical.
The game was still up for grabs late in the second half. North had cut a 13-point deficit to just six at 56-50, with six minutes to play. But South turned it up a notch at both ends of the court, going on a 15-1 tear to put the game on ice.
“I thought both sides had a lot of talent there. It was a great showcase for girls basketball,” South coach Jeff Newhall, of St. Mary’s, said. “I think you could tell later in the game that the heat got to both teams and there were a lot of open shots. Even though it’s an all-star game, they just don’t want to lose and they are going to play to the end.”
North coach Jess Deveny-McNamar, of North Andover High, said her team “put in everything we could.”
“Some of our shots didn’t fall but it was great to have these kids and come together and play. We saw some of them in the regular season so it was nice to have them on our side. I think they had fun playing together and it was an honor. I have not coached in this game, so I was truly honored to have been asked,” Deveny-McNamar said.
St. Mary’s Niya Morgen was the South team’s MVP. The Bentley University commit was all over the court, finishing with a team-high 13 points.
“I definitely wanted to be a part of these games in this type of environment with a bunch of competitive players,” Morgen said. “I got to play with two of my teammates and a bunch of other girls from around the area and got to be coached by Coach Newhall, so I am appreciative to be here.”
Dracut’s Emma Felker, who is planning to play at Colby-Sawyer College, was the North squad’s MVP. She only made five baskets, but all them were three’s, a couple from well behind the arc.
“It was a lot of fun, even though we lost, I don’t think that matters in this game,” she said. “I was really excited to represent Dracut one last time. There was a lot of talent on the court today and it was fun to play with my group of girls that I have played with for a really long time.”
South started the game with an 8-0 run. Morgen capped the run with a layup after a feed from Spartans’ teammate Yirsey Queliz (10 points). The North team cut the deficit to three at 23-20 with less than five minutes left in the first half only to fall behind by 10 at 32-22 with under 20 seconds to play, the big shots being a jumper from Lynnfield’s Isabella George (10 points), a three-pointer from Queliz and a bucket from Morgen. But a long catch-and-shoot three from North’s Brianne Slattery of North Reading on an inbounds play with three seconds left made it 32-25 at halftime.
Much of the second half was back-and-forth. South stretched its lead to double digits three times, only to see North get the deficit back to single digits. With a 56-50 lead, South took charge. George started the rally with a 15-foot jumper to make it 58-50. Lynn Classical’s Lauren Hennessey (6 points) took a pass from St. Mary’s Kellyn Preira (5 points) and drained a three. A free throw from Preira and two free throws from Morgen after a steal by Bishop Feehan’s Samantha Reale (11 points) bumped the lead to 64-50 with about two minutes to go. After a North free throw, South closed out the game with a 7-0 run on a pair of free throws from Reale, a Preira trey, and Reale steal and coast-to-coast layup.
For South, Lynn Classical’s Ava Thurman was solid, with nine points. Teammate Akiyah Brown (6 points), Peabody’s Taylor Bettencourt (2 points, 3 steals), and Peabody’s Isabel Bettencourt (4 rebounds), who was playing in her second all-star game in two days, also contributed.
George summed up the game.
“We sealed the game at the end, which we needed,” George, a Regis College commit, said. “It was a battle in the first half and then in the second half we were picking it up a bit on the defense. We just covered our men and pressed for a little bit and then we just sat back on our D. Offensively, we moved the ball fast and we moved the ball well.”
