Watertown tops Latin Academy
No. 10 seed manages upset win in opener
ROXBURY — The game plan for No. 10 Watertown revolved around slowing down seventh-seeded Boston Latin Academy’s highvolume scorer in Fiona Mannion.
The Raiders didn’t entirely stop Mannion, but did just enough defensively while sophomore forward Taylor Lambo carried the offensive load to lead the way to a 4636 road win in Div. 3 North first round action Monday.
Lambo posted 22 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks and Watertown (10-11) also received a valuable contribution from Ellie Monahan (10 points) to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal against No. 2 Amesbury.
“We knew we had to shut down (Mannion),” Lambo said. “We just had to execute. I knew we had to box out, I knew we had to rebound and I knew I had to get a lot of touches and needed to score. We just knew what we had to do.”
Mannion, who finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds, repeatedly traded baskets with Lambo as it was difficult for either side to gain an upper-hand.
With Watertown leading 24-22 entering the fourth quarter, Lambo scored her team’s first six points of the frame before Monahan drained the Raiders’ first 3-pointer of the contest for a 35-28 advantage with 4:10 left.
But Mannion charged back, putting in a traditional 3-point play and a putback to get Latin Academy (12-10) within two before Watertown pulled away for good.
Monahan made that possible by hitting another trey while Lambo found Brianna Williams, who finished through contact for a bucket and sank the ensuing free throw for a secure lead.
“It’s never just a one person team,” said Watertown coach Pat Ferdinand. “A lot of pieces have to do the job and work at it.”
For Mannion, who will play next year at Adelphi University, the loss caps an illustrious career in which she tallied 2,109 points.
“It’s hard to put into words. Just a superstar,” said Latin Academy coach Bill Dever of Mannion. “Just the most unselfish player I’ve ever coached in my life.”
In more girls basketball action ...
Behind 22 points from Tatum Shaw, sixth-seeded Andover (15-6) took down No. 11 Arlington, 51-39, in the first round of the Div. 1 North.
Haley Melvin netted 21 points for No. 6 Wayland (14-7) en route to a 57-44 victory over No. 11 Hopkinton to move on in the Div. 2 Central.
Maura Dorr scored 16 points as No. 6 Winthrop (14-7) advanced to the Div. 3 North quarterfinals with a 43-36 win over No. 11 Bedford.
Malika Phillip scored 16 points as No. 17 Nantucket (10-11) ousted 16th-seeded Falmouth Academy, 37-27, in a Div. 4 South preliminary round tilt.