Dracut girls catch fire, romp past Notre Dame

DRACUT >> Once Dracut turned it on, there was little slowing the Middies down.

Emma Felker scored 26 points while Ashlee Talbot added 17 as Dracut overcame an early 10-point deficit to knock off No. 27 Notre Dame Academy of Hingham, 77-49, in the first round of the MIAA state tournament on Friday night at Dracut High School.

Dracut (17-6) advances to play No. 11 Nashoba in the Division 2 Round of 16.

“We had a pivotal third quarter with a 25-4 edge playing with pace and tempo in transition for easy baskets,” Dracut coach Peter Witts said.

The visiting Cougars were on fire in the early going as Elle Orlando canned four early triples while sister Ava Orlando added nine more points to help out NDA up 29-19 midway through the second.

Dracut, in danger of being on upset alert, grabbed control. In the final five minutes of the second quarter the Middies went on a 13-2 run highlighted by a Talbot three-pointer and two Felker baskets to go in front 32-31 at the break.

The third quarter belonged to Dracut. After Talbot hit two deep triples, Felker received an outlet pass from Lames Alasaad and laid it home to put Dracut up 11, 42-31. Defensively, meanwhile, the Middies smothered the Cougars, limiting the Orlando sisters to just three secondhalf points through a combination of pressure manto-man and 3-2 zone.

Brodie Gannon scored 11 third-quarter points to propel Dracut to a 22-point lead going into the final stanza. Then, Felker hit a pair of corner triples early in the fourth to put the game out of reach for good.

“The Orlando sisters came out hot in the first half and we told the kids in the locker room they need to be tougher guarding them,” Witts said. “They responded by limiting them in the second half.”