LYNN — The week between Christmas and New Year’s, many are on vacation. At the Walter J. Boverini tournament at Lynn Tech, however, Lynn hoopsters were hard at work.
The action began on the girls’ side at 11 a.m. with St. Mary’s showing off its run-and-gun playstyle, cruising to an 80-14 victory over Lynn English.
Scoreline aside, players were grabbing rebounds and diving for loose balls until the very end.
“I give those kids credit and they played hard the whole way,” said St. Mary’s coach and Athletic Director Jeff Newhall. “It’s easy for me to say that on the other side, but I know that can be a challenge. We’ve played some teams that have come out and been like, ‘Oh, we’re playing St. Mary’s. We’re in trouble,’ and you don’t get any effort from them.”
To Newhall’s point, effort was never in question for English.
In the first half, Jaeleigh Perry (11 points) buried a jumper and made two lefty layups (a la Larry Bird against Portland in 1986).
“Jaeleigh is someone we rely on heavily to be a scorer on the team, especially being a senior captain,” said first-year English coach Sydney Brennan. “She has a strong IQ and an aspect of leadership that definitely helps the team.”
But the Spartans – who led 22-2 after one and 50-6 by halftime – were too fast. Add their tight press and dynamic fastbreak, and you’ve got a hard team to beat.
AJ Hyacinthe (17 points), Reese Matela (14), Bella Owumi (12), and Sky Watson (11) led the charge.
“It is definitely a learning experience to play such a competitive team so early in the season,” Brennan said. “It gives us a good idea of what some of our non-league games are going to show us – like when we play Peabody.”
When asked who impressed him, Newhall pointed to his 8th grade forward.
“I thought, early on, we were a little jittery,” he said. “I thought Charleigh Green came in and settled us down a little bit. She made some shots, and then we started going.”
As did Hyacinthe, who took over in the second period with three swished jumpers in succession.
“It’s a good experience for our kids,” Newhall said. “Whether it’s player one or player 12, they all got a chance to compete.”
The buzzer sounded on game one, and the defending Division 3 champs remained perfect at 7-0.
“We know what’s ahead of us and the results have been very good, but we just have to keep working on what we need to do better,” Newhall said. “We’re going to get into the New Year, and then we’ve got Bridgewater-Raynham, who’s in the top 10, then teams like Fenwick, Feehan, and Cathedral. We’ve got to be ready every night.”
As for English (1-5), Brennan hopes to “start winning some games” in 2024.
“We’ve had multiple close games so far and we want to work on closing them out so we can improve our record in the New Year,” she said. “We are a small team and I would like to see our rebounding improve as well.”
For the Boverini marbles, St. Mary’s battles it out with Lynn Tech at 3 p.m. Friday.
“It’s a longstanding tradition. I think all of the city tournaments that we play in are great for the kids” Newhall said. “It brings the Lynn sports family together.”
