For many different reasons, this was a huge result for the Pentucket girls.
–For personal pride.
–For the CAL Kinney standings.
–For its Division 3 power ranking.
It all matters to the Panthers, who on Friday night went on the road and earned a huge win over North Reading, 39-30. For starters, the Panthers (11-3) had a tough showing against the Hornets in both team’s season opener and fell in double-overtime, so it was nice to get a little revenge. But then add in the fact that the Panthers are ranked No. 9 in Div. 3, and taking down the No. 6 Hornets (11-2) is a quality win to help them move up the standings.
Also, the CAL Kinney title is now back in play.
Amelia Crowe and Devyn Walsh each had big games for Pentucket, and Allie Gagnon did a bit of everything with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. The Panthers will next host Essex Tech on Tuesday.
NEWBURYPORT: Clean sweep for Clippers over Lynnfield
It was the first game of the season, but it was by far the closest that the Newburyport boys have played this year.
Final: Newburyport 81, Lynnfield 77.
So it was a highly-anticipated rematch on Friday night.
But this time, even on the road, Newburyport had little issue staying perfect on the year. Sophomore Tyler Lisauskas had a breakout game with 13 points (9 in the fourth quarter), and the Clippers earned a gritty road win over the Pioneers, 78-65. Cal Atherton led the way with 25 points, Zayd Leanna was right behind him with 19 points, and Ben Cormier hit three 3s and chipped in 17 points.
Newburyport (11-0) came in at No. 10 in the latest Division 2 rankings, and will look to keep it rolling down at North Reading on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Newburyport girls have still forgotten how to lose.
The winning streak is now up to eight for the Clippers, who hosted Lynnfield on Friday night and cruised to the 58-45 victory. Clara Thompson poured in a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Ava Bailey had 15 points to go along with 7 assists. Then it was also a breakout performance for sophomore Kady Tabor, who chipped in 11 points.
Newburyport (10-3) is up to No. 20 in Division 2, and will look to make it nine in a row when it hosts North Reading on Wednesday.
GEORGETOWN: Loewen, boys win fifth straight blowout
The average points scored by Georgetown over the last five games: 75.0.
The averaged points allowed by Georgetown over the last five games: 41.4.
… Just an incredible 33.6-point margain of victory.
An average that the Royals actually “weakened” on Friday night with their latest blowout, a 74-44 beatdown of a much-improved Ipswich team. It’s the fifth straight laugher for the surging Royals (9-4), who are back up to No. 6 in the latest Division 4 power rankings in their quest to defend their state title.
Senior captain Brendan Loewen once again stuffed the stat sheet for the Royals, finishing with 20 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Point guard Rayner Hernandez was right behind him with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and no turnovers, and most impressivly he held Ipswich’s top scorer, Rex Setter (20.0 ppg), to just 8 points. Then to round out the day, both Irvin Zapata (16 pts) and Mezi Rodriguez (10 pts) were in double figures.
AMESBURY: McKay drops 20, leads girls to bounceback win
This Amesbury girls basketball team is a resilient group.
The Redhawks still only have three losses on the year as the calendar gets closer to February, and after each one, they’ve responded with a win. A great trend that continued on Friday night, when — following a tough setback to CAL power Pentucket earlier in the week — the Redhawks welcomed in Hamilton-Wenham and earned a 55-44 victory.
“A tough win, Hamilton-Wenham is a well-coached team,” said Amesbury coach Scott Brown.
The Redhawks (11-3) came into the night ranked No. 17 in the latest Division 4 power poll, so the win was crucial in helping the program potentially host a first-round playoff game. Sophomore Olivia McKay led the way with 20 points on a pair of 3s, and both Delaney Sargent (14 pts) and Haley Dube (11 pts) were in double figures. Point guard Maddy Rodrigues was credited with controlling the tempo and being the team’s floor general, and Celia Tavares was “a monster on the boards,” according the Brown.
Meanwhile in the boys’ game between these two programs, Amesbury went on the road and dropped a 59-50 final to the Generals. Ollie Peters, Parker DeLong (20 pts), Chase Linsey (19 pts) and the Redhawks (4-6) are currently the last team in the Division 4 field at No. 32 in the latest rankings, and will look to get back into the win column when they travel to Whittier Tech on Monday (weather permitting).
TRITON: Win streak halted at two for girls
The chances were there.
Trailing by three in the closing seconds, the Triton girls had a chance to tie things up and send Friday’s game against Essex Tech into overtime. But the shots just wouldn’t fall, and the visiting Hawks were able to come into Byfield and drive home with a 33-30 win over the Vikings.
Lily D’Andrea led the home team with 12 points, and Mia Dupuis hit a 3 and was also in double figures with 10 points. Triton (3-10) saw its two-game win streak halted, but will look to get back on track when it hosts Lynnfield on Tuesday night.
Then moving over to the boys’ game between these two schools, Triton made the drive over to Danvers and couldn’t keep pace in a 72-51 loss to Essex Tech. Noah Bernier, Bryan Dos Santos and the Vikings (1-12) will quickly put the setback behind them and look to regroup at Lynnfield on Tuesday.