Cathedral slips by AW
The Catholic Central League battle of defending state champions lived up to the hype and then some.
Dejah Jenkins sent the game into overtime on a traditional three-point play with 0.1 seconds left in regulation, then Ariana Vanderhoop’s layup with 25.4 seconds allowed host Cathedral (6-3, 5-0 CCL) to take a wild 71-68 girls basketball victory over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Archbishop Williams last night.
“It was everything people said it would be,” said Cathedral coach Clinton Lassiter, whose team is the defending Div. 4 state champions. “I don’t think we’ve ever beaten a No.1 team in school history, so this was big for us.”
Trailing 57-50 entering the fourth quarter, Archbishop Williams relied on the all-around play of Asiah Dingle (28 points, nine rebounds) and a pair of key hoops by Megan Marcel to take a 63-62 lead. Dingle then added a pair of free throws to give the Bishops (8-1, 4-1) a 65-62 lead, setting the stage for Jenkins’ dramatic driving basket and subsequent free throw to deadlock things.
“I didn’t know how much time was left, but I knew it was close,” said Jenkins, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. “I wasn’t nervous at the line because I know I am a good free throw.”
Marcel opened the extra session with a layup, then Mackenzie Daleba (20 points, 16 rebounds) knocked down a line drive from beyond the arc to give Cathedral a 68-67 lead. Dingle hit a free throw to tie the score, then Vanderhoop emerged as the hero with her basket. Taliyah Countrymon sealed the deal with a steal in the waning moments.
Archbishop Williams, which won the Div. 3 crown last year, jumped out to a quick 14-3 lead as Dingle scored seven and Monica Spain (15 points) added a trey. The Panthers slowly fought their way back into the game, getting to within 40-37 at the half. Vanderhoop and Ciana Gibson combined for 13 points in the half.
“We had three starters on the bench with fouls, so our reserves stepped up and played great,” Lassiter said. “They gave us a lift when we needed it.”
In other girls basketball, Molly Greer dropped 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead Cohasset (1-0) to a 50-20 victory over Whitinsville-Christian in nonleague action.
Boys basketball
Jalen Echevarria scored 29 points to lead St. Mary’s (6-0) past Cardinal Spellman, 69-64, in a Catholic Central League matchup.
George Smith had 20 points to lead Central Catholic (6-2) past Andover, 7065, in the Merrimack Valley Conference.
In the Boston City League, Walter Dew-Hollis had 28 points to lead TechBoston (70) over West Roxbury, 88-56.
Indoor track
The Lowell boys and the Andover girls took home Division 1 relay titles at the Reggie Lewis Center.
In the boys events, Lowell started fast and didn’t look back as it won the 4x50 with a combined time of 22.09.
A few races later, the Red Raiders topped the leaderboard with an 8:10.47 in the 4x800.
That early lead was more than enough as Lowell finished with 62 points. Newton North was second with 36 and Brockton landed in third at 34.
It is the first first-place finish for the Red Raiders since winning it back-toback in the 2012 and 2013.
“It’s just a nice, balanced meet for the kids,” said Red Raiders coach Steve Ouellet. “It takes two, three, four guys. No other meet does your sixth, seventh or eighth guy count for you.”
On the girls side, Andover finished as the top team with 62 points with Wachusett second at 52 points.
“We have a special girls team,” said Andover coach Peter Comeau. “It is amazing to win as many events as we did with the quality of teams in this meet.”
The Golden Warriors were first or second in six of the 10 events, including first in the 4x50 hurdles (29.57 seconds), 4x200 (1:45.34) and the critical 4x400 (4:03.01). They finished second in the 4x50 (24.78), sprint medley (4:16.91) and the shot put (94 feet).