Talbot, Dracut hold off Tewksbury charge
Dracut rolled out to a 13-point lead at halftime, but Tewksbury took advantage of Dracut star Ashlee Talbot missing almost the whole third quarter in foul trouble, as the Redmen pulled within seven.
Talbot returned to the court, however, and guided the Middies to a 63-51 Merrimack Valley Conference girls basketball win Tuesday.
Talbot, a senior guard, netted a gamehigh 28 points. Junior guard Lamees Alasaad added 13 points, 11 coming in the third quarter when Talbot was in foul trouble, while senior center Amaya Alkassar earned 10 points for Dracut (13-5, 11-2 MVC).
For Tewksbury, senior guard Kat Macdonald tallied a team-high 11 points. She was followed in the scoring column by sophomore guard Emily Picher (10 points) and senior forward Sam Ryan (8 points).
LOWELL 53, LAWRENCE 43 >> Lacey Pare had a game to remember in leading the Red Raiders to the Merrimack Valley Conference win. Pare put together a 24-point, 14-rebound gem.
Drea Defreitas added 13 points for Lowell, while Stella Procope chipped in seven points.
NOTRE DAME 39, INNOVATION 29 >> In the battle of Tyngsboro, the Academy of Notre Dame came out on top.
For Innovation (11-8), Grace Calvagno led with eight points. Sadie Colemanplourde contributed four points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Also starring were Maddie Darlington (6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Alex Butters (4 points, 12 rebounds) and Addison Kott (5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals).
The Crusaders (9-6, 7-4 CAC) celebrated Senior Night with a big win and punched their ticket to the state tournament in this CAC Upper Division matchup at Keith Gymnasium. Senior captains Catherine Antwi (26 points) and Brynn Johnson (13 points) led the way for LC.
Emily Cushion added 10 and Rylie Hogan chipped in eight points. TYNGSBORO 59, LITTLETON 38 >> In a battle of Tigers, host Tyngsboro outscored Littleton 22-7 in the fourth quarter to break the game open on Senior Night. Gianna Donato continued her outstanding winter with a 21-point, eight-steal performance, while Emily Fuggazzotto added 10 points for Tyngsboro (13-5). Carly Dimento and GG Dilello each tallied eight points.
For Littleton (13-4), Kate Allen registered 16 points and Kaylin O’meara added seven points.
GREATER LOWELL 42, MYSTIC VALLEY 15 >> The Gryphons played stifling defense, holding Mystic Valley to just four firsthalf points. Kendra O’brien led the Greater Lowell (14-2, 11-0 CAC Large) offense with 10 points.
The balanced scoring attack was supported by Emily Sandelli (9 points), Kat Muongvong (6 points) and Nellie Chan (5 points).
ANDOVER 67, CHELMSFORD 43 >> The Lions weren’t able to hand Andover its first loss of the season during a Merrimack Valley Conference clash. Andover led 20-11 after one quarter and 3816 at halftime.
Chelmsford was competitive in the second half, scoring 27 points to Andover’s 29.
CENTRAL CATHOLIC 61, BILLERICA 46 >> The Indians dropped the MVC encounter as Central received an 18-point, sixrebound performance from Kathleen Smith.
Also starring for Central (8-10) were Sam Guertin, who drilled four 3-pointers and netted 14 points, and Abby Yfantopulos, who played terrific defense and added six assists and six rebounds. Central pulled away with a 15-9 second quarter.
PARKER 37, ABBY KELLEY FOSTER 19 >> The hosts received a 16-point effort from Katie Collins in the easy victory in Devens.
Adding eight points for Parker (5-9) was Emma Tierney.
MARLBORO 56, NORTH MIDDLESEX 45 >> Julia Landry scored a team-high 26 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Patriots could not hold onto the lead.
Marlboro outscored its visitors 23-8 to rally for the win. Landry drained three 3-pointers in her outstanding effort. Adding six points each for NM (414) were Gabby Durham and Caitlin O’brien.
BURLINGTON 55, WILMINGTON 39 >> The Wildcats couldn’t get their offense untracked in falling to Burlington and Savanna Scali (20 points) in Middlesex League action.
WESTBORO 48, GROTON-DUNSTABLE 36 >> The Crusaders weren’t able to keep up with their hosts during the Mid-wach clash in Westboro. Groton-dunstable (415) received a strong game from Anna Stenstream, who netted 12 points. Mira Mahmoud added eight points.
Boys basketball
MYSTIC VALLEY 72, INNOVATION 67 >> In a tightly-contested Commonwealth Athletic Conference game in Tyngsboro, the Hawks couldn’t contain Mystic Valley’s Giovanni Soto. Soto drained five 3-pointers and netted 31 points. ANDOVER 68, LOWELL 58 >> The Red Raiders placed three players in double figures, but it wasn’t enough in the Merrimack Valley Conference encounter. Freshman guard Alfred Vazquez led LHS in scoring with 11 points.
Joining him in double figures were junior guard Juan Beltres Diaz (10) and sophomore guard Jason Kamau (10). Chipping in nine points was sophomore guard Tzar Powell-aparicio. TYNGSBORO 81, LITTLETON 54 >> Visiting Tyngsboro had all the answers in capturing the Mid-wach clash of Tigers. Anthony Nicosia produced 16 points and six rebounds.
Trevor Drew and Bryce Goulet each added 14 points, with Drew canning four 3-pointers and Goulet adding two treys. Ryan Wall contributed nine points. Also shining for Tyngsboro were Jimmy O’keefe (6 points, 5 assists), Nick Ausiello (6 points, two 3-pointers) and Ryan Manning (6 points).
MARLBORO 54, NORTH MIDDLESEX 41 >> The Patriots dropped the Mid-wach meeting despite a 12-point effort from junior guard Lucas Eibye. Just missing reaching double figures were Mike Reardon Jr. with nine points, Cade Callahan with eight points and Brian Morse with eight points.
GROTON-DUNSTABLE 72, WESTBORO 65 >> Andrew Stenstream dominated, especially in the second half, to power the Crusaders to the road win in Westboro. Stenstream scored 17 of his game-high 28 points after intermission.
He had plenty of help. Pietro Vendramel netted 19 points and Zach Romich racked up 15 points for G-D (8-10). The Crusaders held on despite being outscored 24-12 in the fourth quarter. CHELMSFORD 54, BILLERICA 53 >> Games between these Merrimack Valley Conference rivals are always intense and the latest clash was no different. Chelmsford captured the thrilling win as Ryan Blagg had a steal and a bucket for the final points.
Michael Mwaniki paced Chelmsford (11-7) with 20 points. Tyler Allen provided eight points and 11 rebounds, while Blagg was also immense with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
For Billerica, Connor Gibson was outstanding with 15 points. Cole Dillon tallied 12 points, while Amir Mahrez added nine points.
TEWKSBURY 53, DRACUT 38 >> The Redmen, winners of four straight, continued to make a late surge after a slow start to the season. Their latest Merrimack Valley Conference win came after they led 26-18 at halftime in Dracut. Tewksbury moves to 9-10, 6-8 in the MVC.
BURLINGTON 75, WILMINGTON 59 >> Cedric Rodriguez put on a show for Burlington and Wilmington wasn’t able to overcome his exploits. Rodriguez finished with 30 points for Burlington (14-5). ALVIRNE 61, DOVER 54 >> The Broncos put together a terrific third quarter and rallied from a double-digit deficit to stun Dover in Hudson, N.H.
Boys skiing
GHOSTS 11TH >> Westford Academy accumulated 172 points to finish 11th out of 16 scoring teams at the MIAA nordic state championships at Prospect Mountain.
Joshua Forty led the way by placing 23rd in 21:36, Liam Schmidt was 33rd in 22:16 and Alex Huesgen was 34th in 22:20.
Mt. Greylock (25) edged Newton South (32) for the title, with Concordcarlisle (62) taking third.
Girls skiing
WA SHINES >> Westford Academy (160) tied with Winchester for ninth place at the MIAA nordic state championships at Prospect Mountain.
The Ghosts had three skiers finished in the top 45: Sarah Cunniffe placed 22nd in 27:22, Marie Morris claimed 35th in 28:21 and Sophia House captured 43rd in 28:53.
Concord-carlisle (32) was the team champion.