The No. 38 Lynn English girls basketball team made the long journey to No. 27 Attleboro on Monday night. Despite battling to the final buzzer, Attleboro defended home court and advanced in the Division 1 postseason after a 66-56 win.
In the first half, the Bulldogs were led by senior captain Amara Flores who erupted for 16 first-half points and finished with a game-high 23 points.
The opening two quarters were back-and-forth with the game tied at 16 after the first quarter before Attleboro pulled ahead in the second quarter to give the Bombardiers a 34-26 lead going into halftime.
In the second half, Attleboro started to focus on Flores which allowed junior guard Dayana Hios to get herself open looks. Hios finished with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
“Building her confidence was our biggest thing. She didn’t play freshman year so I had her for the first time last year and getting her to understand how good of a player she is and keeping that confidence throughout the game like she did today is big,” Bulldogs coach Sydney Brennan said. “You could see in the second half she was believing in how good she is.”
The Bulldogs fought hard, but you can’t teach size and Attleboro had two girls over six feet tall who dominated the glass leading to open looks for its sharpshooter Avery James who netted 17 points.
“Whether she’s hitting or not she’s a huge threat out there. She was creating her own shot which was huge and she was hitting her floaters. When teams start coming out on her it opens up the inside and when our inside game is going, James gets open looks from three,” Attleboro head coach Bri Bracken said.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit to six (45-51)with 5:38 left after a Saniya Patton three, but Attleboro weathered the storm and went on a run to seal the victory 66-56.
Postgame, Brennan spoke highly of her senior captain Flores, and her impact on the program over the four years.
“She’s going to be a major loss. It’s hard to think about, hard to talk about. She’s been huge, not only for me but for the program in general. From her freshman year to the end, she’s tried her best every single day,” Brennan said.
Two players were missing for the Bulldogs and Brennan elected to play her starting five for the whole game.
“They worked their butts off. I only played five girls and they played until the end and never gave up,” Brennan said. “That’s all I can ask for.”
Bracken praised the Bulldogs for their effort on both sides of the ball.
“They’re just scrappy and they hustle for everything,” Bracken said. “It seemed like they were getting every loose ball. They had some shooters too which made them a tough team to beat.”
The Bulldogs will lose three senior captains from this season’s team all of whom Brennan praised for their leadership and commitment to the program.
“Saniya, Amara, and Alisha (Soto) have been huge. Last year having them as juniors I knew they had such strong leadership qualities and just building off that they’re three very different individuals, but they all brought something special to the team,” Brennan said. “I could ask any of them to do anything on the floor and they would do it.”
Although it was an early exit for Lynn English, Brennan said she learned a lot after her coaching postseason debut.
“It was stressful. It was very nerve-racking especially walking in and getting here,” Brennan said. “I learned a lot. It was a really close game and I hope we can just develop and get better. I mean without these seniors it’s a huge loss, but now knowing the energy and getting them prepped for this kind of atmosphere and getting that experience is something I’ll carry into the future.”
The Bulldogs have plenty of players coming back and are primed for a return to the postseason next year.
No. 27 Attleboro will travel to play No. 6 Natick on Thursday at 6 p.m.
