Springfield Central brings defense, ousts Brookline

BROOKLINE >> Even with the 12th seed and a long layoff, defending state champion Springfield Central is still making noise in the Div. 1 bracket.

In a loud and packed Schluntz Gymnasium, the Golden Eagles used a strong full court press and their size to take down No. 5 Brookline on the road 65-52 in the Division 1 second-round matchup.

“Part of our scheme is that we want to play good defense,” said Springfield Central coach James Gee. “Open up the full-court defense and make teams make some bad decisions. We got in some foul trouble, so we had to pull back a little bit in the second half to play a little wiser.”

Sophomore Angela Hector was a big part of fending off Brookline (17-5) in the fourth as she netted 10 of her teamhigh 24 points in the frame. She also gathered 17 rebounds, with 12 of those coming on the offensive end.

“(Hector) is our best kept secret down low on the blocks,” Gee said about the sophomore. “She is going to make some noise. She gives us a big presence down there.”

Hector scored eight in the opening frame as well as Springfield Central (19-2) led 19-11 after one.

Then it was senior Heaven Morris’ turn as she hit a pair of threes in the second to push the Golden Eagles’ advantage to 32-18. She finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

“Morris is a really versatile player,” said Gee about one of the seven seniors on the squad. “She’s a senior and has played in a lot of big games. She’s able to really balance us on the floor with her quickness and her ability to shoot from the outside and get to the rim really helps us a lot during games.”

The Warriors did not go away at the end of the second as an 8-2 run with five coming in the final 13 seconds of the frame made it a 34-26 deficit at the half. This was in a big part to the 18 points for senior captain Margo Mattes.

Mattes finished the contest with a gamehigh 32 points, with nine of those coming from the free throw line.

In the third, Brookline got as close as six early in the quarter before Springfield Central pushed it back out to 14.

Next up, the Golden Eagles head to No. 4 Wachusett on Friday at 6 p.m. in the Div. 1 quarterfinals.

CHRIS CHRISTO — BOSTON HERALD From left, Brookline’s Talia Thompson, Faith Rothstein and Gigi McMahon go for a rebound against Springfield Central’s Julie Bahati. Brookline was ousted in state tournament play, 65-52.

CHRIS CHRISTO — BOSTON HERALD Brookline’s Geanna Bryant goes up for a shot while being guarded by Springfield Central’s Heaven Morris on Wednesday. The visitors eliminated Brookline, 65-52.