LYNNFIELD — When it comes to comebacks, it might not get any better than the Lynnfield Pioneers’ 45-42 overtime win against visiting Essex Tech.
With five minutes to go in the third quarter, the Pioneers trailed by 16 (35-19) and looked to be dead in the water.
But in the end, the Pioneers turned tables, outscoring the Hawks 26-7 the rest of regulation (14-2 in the fourth quarter) to force overtime.
“At halftime, we were down by 12 and we said we just had to stay positive and come out strong in the third quarter,” said senior captain Ava Gamache (2 points, 2 steals, 2 rebounds). “They took a bigger lead and we were down, but we kept up our energy and stayed positive. The girls on the bench were cheering the whole game and we fed off that energy.”
Junior captain Taylor Valiton (10 points, 13 rebounds) couldn’t have agreed more.
“The fourth quarter, we just really flipped a switch and did not give up,” she said. “We worked together more and we started to be a little more patient with our shots and they started going in.”
Trailing 37-25 going into the final quarter, the Pioneers caught fire, going on a 14-0 run across the first seven minutes to erase the Hawks’ lead. Freshman Jordan Calichman (2 points) got things started with a jumper to make it 37-27. Junior Emma Rose (16 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds) snagged an offensive rebound and fed Gamache, who banked it in. Valiton grabbed a rebound off a Hawks’ miss and fed Rose for two more to make it 37-31. Freshman Hayden Valiton (13 points, 13 rebounds) made it a two-point game after a putback on an offensive board – and a pair of free throws with 1:43 to go – that made it 37-35.
The Hawks’ Thais Dos Santos temporarily stopped the bleeding to give Tech a two-point lead with 50 seconds left in regulation.
But Rose, showing nerves of steel, drained two free throws with 45 seconds remaining to make it 39-39 and force overtime.
Neither team scored in the first three minutes of overtime. Lynnfield struck first after Gamache snagged a steal and fed Rose, who went coast-to-coast and laid it in as she was knocked to the floor with 1:37 to go.
Dos Santos converted two free throws to tie things up at 41 all with 46 seconds to go, but Hayden Valiton, who came up big at the charity stripe for most of the game, swished two more with 37 seconds left to give Lynnfield the lead for good.
Rose converted two more free throws with four seconds remaining to seal it.
Lynnfield coach Sue Breen said free throws and defense played a big role in the come-from-behind win.
“They made their free throws when they had to,” she said. “Emma is really good and was solid tonight. She plays so hard. Hayden is also very good at the free throw line and plays so hard. Defensively, we rattled them a little. Having Ava and Taylor Valiton, I know they are never going to give up and will keep fighting. I’m really proud of all of them. We moved the ball well tonight, but we have to be more ready to shoot as some of them are turning down open shots.”
Breen said Calichman played a huge role during the Pioneers’ run in the fourth quarter.
“She played her role tonight. To go out there and play defense, take a shot when you are open, and get rebounds – she did all that. She was a factor out there and was on the floor for most of that run.”
Breen also was impressed with Hayden Valiton’s play.
“Hayden is tough. She’s growing up and it’s great,” Breen said. “Her vision is phenomenal and her passing is unbelievable.”
The Pioneers (6-9) need to step it up throughout the final four games of the season to make the tournament, and it won’t be easy. Their next game is Sunday against Waltham at home at 1 p.m. After that, of their three remaining games, two are against teams (Newburyport and Triton) that beat Lynnfield by double-digits the first time around.
“We’ve just got to keep winning,” Gamache said.
