LYNN — Traditional archrivals squared off at the Tony C. Gymnasium Tuesday night with St. Mary’s girls basketball team knocking off Bishop Fenwick in a 51-41 final.
St. Mary’s, which sports a 16-2 record and the No. 1 spot in the Division 3 power rankings, trailed by as many as seven points. Bella Owumi led the charge with 22 points, while Juliana Conte added 12.
“Bella getting downhill was significant, coupled with Juliana burying four threes, which helped us get in the flow a bit,” said St. Mary’s coach and Athletic Director Jeff Newhall. “We certainly haven’t been good in the first half for the past few games. Thankfully, our defense has kept us in it until we get going offensively, but we can’t have that Friday against the No. 1 team in the state (Bishop Feehan at 6:30 p.m.) with the Catholic Central League title on the line.”
Tuesday’s win gave St. Mary’s its 15th against Fenwick in 17 tries. The Spartans also swept the season series for the fifth time in six years.
That said, they couldn’t completely contain Fenwick’s dynamic duo of Celia Neilson (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Caitlin Boyle (15 points, 8 rebounds), but kept the rest of the Crusaders at bay. Caroline Perry (8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) played a “great all-around game,” according to Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis.
“We played well and tough for most of the game. We just had some tough stretches in the late third (quarter) and early fourth,” DeBaggis said. “We were really frustrating them defensively early, but they found their stride in the second half.”
Fenwick is ranked No. 18 in the Division 2 power rankings and welcomes Wachusett next Monday at 6 p.m.
