After the MIAA imposed a postseason ban for every Fenwick team, the team most affected by this was the Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team. Last year they finished second in the state and this year they were primed to make another run at the state title.
With the ban imposed, all they could do was win everything else. On Monday afternoon, the Crusaders faced off against Medfield in the Comcast Tournament Championship game. The Crusaders beat Medfield (for the second time this year) 49-45 crowning them champions. Medfield, as of Friday, was ranked No. 1 in Division 2.
Cecilia Kay left it all on the floor in her final game in the black and gold tallying 26 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks.
Sophomore Celia Neilson did a little of everything finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Up three with seven seconds left, Fenwick’s Isabella Lopez-Marin swiped the ball away from the Medfield guard leading them to foul her. Lopez-Marin went to the line and made the game-sealing free throw.
Bishop Fenwick trailed 35-36 going into the final quarter, but like all season it showed resilience and continued to fight back to win.
After the game, Adam DeBaggis said, “Fenwick finishes the season 17-3 and the best team in Division 2.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Masco 47
Peabody 45
Riley Bovardi, the granddaughter of the man for whom the tournament is named, hit a 15-foot jump shot with 6 seconds left to give the Chieftains (14-5) a thrilling win over the Tanners (12-7) in the consolation game of the 12th Larry McIntire IAABO Board 130 Classic at Marblehead High School. All-Tournament Team selections Mia Theberge of Masco (17) and Logan Lomasney of Peabody (21) led their teams in scoring.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Lynn Classical 68
Lowell Catholic 67
On the final day of the Spartan Classic, the Rams finished the regular season with a narrow victory over Lowell Catholic. A game-winning layup with four seconds left all but sealed the game for the Rams.
The Rams were led by DJ Reynolds who scored a team-high 18 points. Marvin Avery Jr. added 15 points and Rolky Brea Arias posted a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
The Rams will now wait and see who they draw in the state tournament.
Bedford 64
Marblehead 60
Tournament MVP Camdyn Shoesmith hit four clutch free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the win for the Buccaneers in the championship game of the Larry McIntire IAABO Board 130 Classic at Marblehead High School. Shoesmith scored 14 points, giving him 30 for the tournament, for Bedford, which avenged a loss to Marblehead in last year’s tournament final.
Marblehead cut Bedford’s lead to two points three times in the last 30 seconds, but Bedford was perfect from the line down the stretch. All-Tournament Team selection Justice Buchannan led the Buccaneers (16-3) with 17 points. Marblehead’s Nicholas Lemmond led all scorers with 25 points and was named to the All-Tournament team.
Gloucester 59
Bishop Fenwick 45
Freshman Carlos Velazquez scored 18 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team in leading the Fishermen to an easy win. Charles Amero had 16 for Gloucester (6-13), while Andrew Cribbs added 10. James Meklis led the Crusaders (7-14) with 16 points and was an All-Tournament selection.
Springfield Central 78
Lynn English 71
In a back-and-forth contest, the Lynn English Bulldogs (16-5) came up empty-handed. Springfield Central capitalized on a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to give them a 73-66 lead and didn’t look back.
Denzell Guillen led the Bulldogs with 17 points. Kyle Kemembin chipped in with 15 points.
Triton 52
Saugus 50
The Sachems lose a close battle to end its season against Triton. Danny Shea led Saugus with 19 points, while Isaiah Rodriguez added 11. Ryan Shea contributed with nine points.
GIRLS HOCKEY
PLNR 5
Bishop Fenwick 0
Despite the scoreline, this game was tight heading into the third period. It took PLNR to start flowing thanks to 14 first-period saves from Fenwick’s Ella Tucker. PLNR found a breakthrough from Erin Dee to give PLNR a 1-0 lead after one.
After a scoreless second period, PLNR’s Mia Lava scored early in the third period to give the Tanners some breathing room. Then the goals started to pour in for PLNR.
Ava Buckley, Maura Flaws, and Catie Kampersal all added a goal to give PLNR the 5-0 victory.
The 2024 Bo Tierney Award winners were Mia Lava of PLNR and Brynn Lally of Bishop Fenwick.
Leominster 3
Marblehead 0
It was a tough day for the Lady Headers on Monday losing to Leominster. Senior goalie Ava Shultz was the standout player according to head coach Hadley Woodfin.
“She played hard all 3 periods and fought until the last buzzer,” Woodfin said.
