LYNN — It’s not over until it’s over, and the Lynn Classical Lady Rams – who defeated traditional archrival Lynn English, 56-45, on Saturday – experienced that firsthand during the Walter J. Boverini championship game at St. Mary’s.
Despite a double-digit loss, the Lady Bulldogs played true to their name and didn’t go down easy.
In the closing minutes of the first half, Classical was in control (17-11). But from there, English’s Amara Flores scored seven straight points for her team to cut the deficit to 20-18 by halftime.
“Amara is a very key player and leader to our team, and she has been working very hard,” said second-year English coach Sydney Brennan. “Amara can really drive hard to the hoop and finish strong, and that is something we need when we play close games.”
But in the second half, the Lady Rams came out hot, going on a 10-0 run that was highlighted by a Keisha Perez three and Nevaeh Eth layup.
Brennan was forced to call a timeout.
Just like the end of the first half, however, the Lady Bulldogs came back with Flores drilling a corner three to spark life back into English, which only trailed, 38-34, heading to the fourth quarter.
Better yet, in the fourth, the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game (other than 1-0) with a Jayleen Novas-Rivera triple.
Down one point (41-40) with 5:47 remaining, it would have been easy for Classical to crumble, but coach Tom Sawyer said his message was to leave it all out on the court.
“We talked about it during a few timeouts in the second half. It was obvious that both teams were tired. This was the second game of a back-to-back and I just challenged the kids,” he said. “I told them they’re going to be tired either way. You’ll be tired if you win this tournament or if you lose, so might as well leave it all on the floor.”
His players must’ve listened. Classical outscored English, 15-4, over the final 5:30 to be crowned champions. Leading the charge was Perez, who scored 10 of her 20 points in the final eight minutes.
“I’m really proud of the kids. We led the whole way and then they came back in the fourth quarter, but the kids never quit or got down. They just dug down,” Sawyer said. “They executed down the stretch to get the win. They made key plays to get us the win and that’s what it’s all about. You have to play all 32 minutes. Basketball is a game of runs and we had the last one, and that’s why we were able to pull it out.”
Brennan said she was proud of her girls for fighting until the final whistle.
“We have no sophomores on our team, so once our juniors and seniors are injured or in foul trouble, our options go right to our freshmen,” she said. “I’m really proud of how they played tonight and it’s going to be really exciting to see how they grow throughout this season.”
Flores (24 points) was named to the all-tournament team, as was Perez.
MVP honors went to Classical’s Divine Egbuta, who scored 32 points in Friday’s opener against Lynn Tech before posting a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) Saturday.
“I think she played all 32 minutes yesterday, and today, I think she played 30 minutes. She works very hard on offense to get position. On defense, we put her at the top of our press, which is a spot where you exert a lot of energy,” Sawyer said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her perseverance and how she fought through her tiredness to make key plays for us at the end.”
