ONE STEP CLOSER
South High surges late to top NDA-Hingham, reach D2 state semifinal
NORWELL — Before Saturday’s Division 2 quarterfinal against Notre Dame Academy of Hingham, South High coach Diago McClain reminded his team, during a team breakfast and on the ride to Norwell High, that basketball is a game of runs. The Colonels would make theirs, and the Cougars would do the same. McClain reinforced that message in every timeout.
Early in the third quarter, NDA’s Effie Giannopoulos scored six straight points to cut what was a 13-point South lead in the first half to five.
Spearheaded by senior Naima Bleou and junior Bryan Bascones, the Colonels closed the quarter with a 12-3 spurt.
“Diago has said it since the beginning,” Bleou said, “that basketball is a game of runs, and it really is. We just knew to stay level-headed and think ‘next play.’ ”
Sixth-seeded South maintained momentum during a dominant fourth quarter, rolled to a 71-46 victory over No. 3 NDA, and punched its ticket to the Final Four.
“It feels so good, and I can’t even believe it,” said Bascones, who scored a team-high 18 points, and had four rebounds and a block. “I’m so happy. It feels like it’s a dream.”
South (22-1) will face No. 7 seed Northampton in a semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Chicopee Comp.
The Colonels, who advanced to the second round of the state tournament each of the last two years, finally got over “the hump,” as McClain said, by beating Wakefield in the round of 16 Tuesday.
South brought confidence and resolve into Saturday’s quarterfinal, and, now, Worcester Public Schools have two representatives in the Final Four. Defending Division 1 boys’ champion North advanced to the semifinals with a convincing win over Lowell Friday night. Polar Bears coach Al Pettway cheered on the Colonels Saturday.
“There is still a goal we want,” McClain said, as his players and their
fans celebrated on the court postgame. “This is for them; this is for the city of Worcester. Al did it last year; he set that path winning it all, and we said, ‘Why not us?’ Let’s do it on the girls’ side. These girls work hard. They’ve been responding all year.”
Senior Anitsy Robles scored 17 points with seven rebounds and four assists. Bleou had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals, and sophomore Madi Leighton added 12 points, all on her signature corner 3s.
NDA finished 21-2.
“I’m very proud of our team,” said NDA coach Nickie Orlando, who played for the legendary Barbara Stevens, a Southbridge native, at Bentley. “To go 21-2, I think this is a phenomenal season. We will miss our seniors so much, and the leadership they brought. They did a great job.”
Giannopoulos scored a game-high 19 points, and Lola Griffin added 11 points for the Cougars.
“South is a very talented team,” Orlando said. “We came up a little short today. Through three quarters, it was nip and tuck, and the fourth quarter is where that lead expanded.”
South outscored NDA, 22-11, in the fourth. Against the Cougars’ man defense, the Colonels took advantage of the pick and roll, and made the most of their transition chances, too.
Griffin opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer to keep the Cougars within 11, but Robles’ driving layup started the Colonels on a decisive 16-0 run.
“I’m blessed, I’m happy,” Robles said. “We worked our butts off.”
With 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, Bleou helped South take a 16-12 lead after one quarter. The Colonels opened the second with three consecutive 3s, two from Robles and one from sophomore Ava MacCollom, and took a 25-12 lead.
After a timeout, NDA scored six straight points, but South, on a Bleou 3 and baskets underneath from Bascones, built the lead back to 13.
South led, 34-26, at halftime.
“In the second half, we knew we needed to come out with a different kind of fire,” Bleou said.
South, which put away Holliston in the third quarter of its opening-round win, has won its three tournament games by an average margin of 29 points.
“That’s a good team,” McClain said of NDA. “We kept our composure and kept chipping and chipping and chipping until finally we put it down, and defensively we locked up.”