Fenwick rolls to North title
Bishop Fenwick was one of the last girls basketball teams to qualify for the Division 3 North tournament.
The Crusaders can safely say they are the last team remaining.
Courtney Norton scored 12 points, while Jennie Meagher was a force in the paint with eight points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots as eighth-seeded Bishop Fenwick captured its second sectional title in three years with a 45-22 victory over No. 7 Bedford yesterday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.
Bishop Fenwick will meet Catholic Central League rival Archbishop Williams in Tuesday’s state semifinal (2:15) at the Garden. The teams met twice this season with the Bishops prevailing both times.
The Crusaders (15-9) struggled at times during the season due in large part to key injuries. Standout Jaxson Nadeau missed more than half the season with a knee injury and Frederike DeGuglielmo recently injured her leg and did not play against Bedford.
“It’s been a very rewarding season in that regard,” said Bishop Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis. “For a while, the kids were working hard and not getting the dividends from it. I think the girls learned a lesson that if they kept working at it, it would pay dividends.”
Bishop Fenwick certainly worked at the defensive end, limiting Bedford (14-10) to a single point in both the first and fourth quarters. Much of that was due to the presence of Meagher in the paint, a player DeBaggis feels is peaking at the right time.
“I think she’s realized that the end is coming and she’s playing her best basketball,” DeBaggis said. “She playing with a lot of confidence, she is a complete different player than she was a couple of months ago and it’s fun to watch.”
Central Catholic 43, Belmont 35 — Clinging to a fourpoint lead after three quarters, it looked like injuries and a grueling tournament schedule might finally be the unraveling of the secondseeded Raiders in Lowell.
However, Central Catholic held the No.4 Marauders to just one field goal in the final quarter to punch its ticket to the Garden with a gritty win in the Div.1 North final.
Not a bad effort for a team that was less than 24 hours removed from its semifinal win over Lowell which saw the Raiders (21-2) lose senior standout Ava Bradley.
“I was very nervous for this game just because Ava has been our rock,” said Central coach Casey Grange. “Our girls didn’t get home until midnight. We could have used it as an excuse, but I think we went with the flow and we ran on adrenaline.”
Kaylee Thomas led the Raiders with 17 and freshman Adrianna Niles added 11 firsthalf points.
Belmont (19-4), which battled through foul trouble, shot just 1-for-14 in the final quarter.
Pentucket 48, Wakefield 33 — All season, depth and defense have been the two key ingredients to the success of the second-seeded Sachems and they did not stray far from that playbook to beat the No.4 Warriors in the Div. 2 North title game in Lowell.
Coach John McNamara’s squad held the senior-laden Warriors (18-6) to just 20 percent from the field, including 2-for-17 in a decisive second quarter that saw Pentucket (23-2) take a 26-12 lead at the break.
“We’re deep and we can rotate people and I think we wore them down a little bit,” said McNamara. “We play hard defense and the kids are committed to it so it’s fun to coach.”
Sophomore guard Angelina Yacubacci came off the bench to toss in a game-high 15 points and three treys.
Hopkinton 46, Medway 39 — The fourth-seeded Hillers (20-4) allowed just four points — including just one made field goal over the final eight minutes — as they took down No. 3 Medway (19-5) in the Div.2 Central final at WPI.
“Defense is something we pride ourselves in,” said Hopkinton coach Mike Greco. “We were fortunate enough to have players that buy-in to the defensive mindset.”
Braintree 70, Newton South 58 —With a 3-point first-half shooting barrage, it looked like Braintree (21-3) would coast to another sectional crown.
But top-seeded Newton South (22-2) had other ideas, answering with a 3-point hot streak of its own.
No. 2 Braintree hit a couple more outside shots than the Lions to hold off their furious rally to claim a 70-58 victory and the Wamps’ sixth Division 1 South title in seven years in Taunton.
“I’m so proud of my kids for riding the high and then fighting through the low,” said Braintree coach Kristen McDonnell.
Foxboro 40, Nauset 23 — Ashley Sampson wasn’t about to let Nauset close the curtains on her season.
The Foxboro senior poured in 17 points as the Warriors clinched their second consecutive Div. 2 South crown with a win over Nauset in Taunton.
“At this point, a win’s a win,” the senior guard said.
Freshman Katelyn Mollica had 13 points, including eight in the second half, for Foxboro (23-1).
Reagan Meehan dropped eight points to lead Nauset (19-3).
It is the second trip in a row to the state semis for Foxboro coach Lisa Downs.