LYNN — Don’t go so far as to call it their ‘state championship game’, because it wasn’t. That’s something you can’t replicate.
What it was, though, was a massive and much needed win for the Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team over their arch rivals from St. Mary’s of Lynn Tuesday night.
On the road before a sellout crowd at Conigliaro Gymnasium, the Crusaders took an early lead and never lost it, holding off a furious rally from the hosts in the fourth quarter to pull out a 46-44 win.
Behind a game-high 21 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals from senior captain Cecilia Kay, Bishop Fenwick (now 7-1) defeated their Catholic Central League foes for the first time since 2019.
“We’ve lost a couple of bad beats to them the last few years, so it’s nice to pull one out,” head coach Adam DeBaggis said. “Two years ago we played three games against them and lost by a total of five points. Last year we lost in the (Division 3) state title game by four points. So this was big.
“I don’t think a lot of teams have the two post players that we have (Kay and sophomore Caitlin Boyle, who had 8 points),” noted DeBaggis. “That’s a tough matchup because they’re both athletic and tall, and they can finish at the rim.”
The Crusaders, who finished with 20 steals as a team, never trailed after a Kay steal-and-score early in the first quarter to make it 6-4. At times, it seemed like they actually might run away from the Spartans (now 9-2), whose star player, freshman (and Division 1 recruit) Bella Owumi, was battling the flu had to come off the bench to play minimal minutes. They also seemed to have difficultly against multiple defenses that the Crusaders ran at them, and were limited to just 18 points in the first half.
Captain Tess Keenan, a 4-foot-11 senior, was immense defensively for Fenwick, routinely guarding players 8 inches (or more) taller than her and helping to lock things down.
The visitors led by 11 points late in the second quarter and again early in the third, but were never able to deliver the knockout blow. Instead, St. Mary’s made a game of it, slicing their deficit to four points (33-29) after three quarters and tying it at 36-all on a layup by sophomore forward Jilian Roberts (a team-high 13 points).
“We needed to do one more of something: one more shot, one more rebound, not as many missed free throws,” veteran St. Mary’s of Lynn coach Jeff Newhall said. “I was happy with the way we came back; I just wish we had been able to settle in earlier.”
Late, the Crusaders got tough and hammered out seven straight points to reclaim the lead, getting an underneath scoop shot from Kay, three free throws from fellow senior Isabella Lopez-Marin, and a bucket from under the basket by Boyle after a terrific pass from captain Kate McPhail.
“I said more than once during a timeout, ‘If we’re rotating and trapping and they’re under duress, who do you think they’re looking to get the ball to? So how is she running unattached?’” Newhall said of Kay. “That part’s a little frustrating.”
The hosts attempted to claw their way back and got a lay-in from freshman Lily Norton with 9.8 seconds to go, making it 46-44. Fenwick missed a pair of free throws and St. Mary’s had one last chance with 2.6 seconds left, but a jumper just inside the 3-point line fell short at the buzzer.
When asked if he felt like his team could’ve won by double digits, DeBaggis answered, “I’m not going to say yes to that … but it shouldn’t have been (only) two. (St. Mary’s) is great; their run-and-gun press is hard. But 30 minutes into the game, we shouldn’t be making the same turnovers we made one minute into the game. We knew it was coming; I just wish we handled that better.
“Still, this win helps us break through some ice you want to break through.”
Bishop Fenwick 46, St. Mary’s Lynn 44
at Conigliaro Gymnasium, Lynn
Bishop Fenwick — Celia Neilson 0-2-2, Isabella Lopez-Marin 1-5-7, Caitlin Boyle 4-0-8, Kate McPhail 2-0-4, Cecilia Kay 8-5-21, Samantha Dormer 1-0-2, Tess Keenan 0-0-0, Anna Fertonani 1-0-2. Totals 17-12-46.
St. Mary’s Lynn — AJ Hyacinthe 2-0-5, Jillian Roberts 4-4-13, Lily Norton 2-0-4, Reese Matela 4-0-8, Charleigh Green 2-0-4, Sky Watson 1-2-5, Bella Owumi 2-0-5, Juliana Conte 0-0-0. Totals 17-6-44.
Halftime: Bishop Fenwick, 27-18.
Three-pointers: BF, none; SML, Hyacinthe, Roberts, Watson, Owumi.
Records: BF, 7-1; SML, 9-2.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN