Sometimes, it’s just about survival.
That felt like more of the case for the Newburyport girls on Tuesday night, who still managed to come out of a physical game against Essex Tech with a 44-32 victory. It was the fifth win in a row for the Clippers (7-3), who are currently ranked No. 20 in Division 2 and are closing in on getting a home playoff game.
Leading the way in this latest game was junior Morgan Rouba, who scored 9 points. The trio of Clara Thompson, Ava Bailey and Alexandra Yavarow each had 7 points, and Christina Corneau chipped in 6 points.
“Credit to Essex Tech, but we survived more than won,” said Newburyport coach Tim Mahan. “But we’re starting to figure it out. I really like this group, they are resilient and tough.”
PENTUCKET: A clean sweep for Panthers over Triton
All told, it was a good night for Pentucket basketball.
The girls made the trip over to Triton on Tuesday evening, and opened up a huge halftime lead before cruising to a 43-21 win. Everyone was able to get significant minutes for the Panthers (8-2), who were led by Amelia Crowe with 11 points, Allie Gagnon and Chloe Dancewicz with 9 points, and Devyn Walsh with 4 points. Then for the Vikings (1-8), Summer Pawlick had a team-high 9 points, and both Bella Burrell and Addison Ewell had 4 points.
This was also the actual 399th career win for Pentucket coach John McNamara, who we mistakenly reported hit that number following the team’s last victory over Bridgewater-Raynham. He and the Panthers will get their first chance to hit No. 400 when they host Lynnfield on Thursday.
Meanwhile, it’s now two wins in a row for the Pentucket boys following a 67-51 victory over Triton. Out in front for the Panthers (3-8) was Chase Dowling with 14 points, Quinn Vuylsteke with 12 points, and the trio of Michael Torrisi, Braylon Leonard and Gavin Jalbert with 11 points.
Then for the Vikings (0-9), Mateus Pinto poured in a game-high 16 points, while Camden Moriarty hit four 3s and had 14 points.
AMESBURY: Now three in a row for DeLong, boys
The Amesbury boys knew they had some work to do.
Following a rough start to the season — dropping their first four games — the Redhawks figured they’d be on the outside looking in when the first MIAA Division 4 power rankings were released. Which ultimately proved to be the case, even though three of those setbacks were only by eight points or less.
But over the last two weeks, it’s been a total 180-degree turn.
Amesbury won its third straight game on Tuesday night, welcoming in visiting Rockport and cruising to an 83-54 blowout. Parker DeLong continued his fantastic season with 26 points on four 3s, and fellow senior captain Justin Dube was right behind him with 19 points. The Redhawks (3-4) saw a pretty incredible 12 different athletes score at least a point during the win, with Chase Linsey (9 pts) and Joshua Decocq (6 pts) also having nice games.
With the latest rankings release on Tuesday morning, Amesbury was currently inside of the Division 4 field at No. 31. The Redhawks can both improve upon that ranking and get back to .500 on Thursday night, when they travel over to try and get some revenge on an Ipswich team that already beat them earlier in the year (64-58).
GEORGETOWN: Girls fall on the road to Manchester Essex
The archrival got the better of the Georgetown girls on Tuesday night.
It was a long drive up to Manchester Essex for the Royals, and a longer drive home following a 68-47 setback. Victoria Barbarick led the visitors with 20 points, and behind her was Brylee Hodges with 11 points and Crismeylin Mateo with 8 points.
Despite the loss, the Royals (2-6) are still in position to make the Division 4 playoffs at No. 25 in the latest rankings.