Category Archives: Newburyport

April 25, 2012 · 11:26 pm

Triton plays well in softball win (6-3) over Newburyport

Amy Sullivan tries for third as Kelsey Trudel prepares to throw her out.

Cori Simons struck out four and had two hits.

(Newburyport) Triton combined flawless fielding with a Cori Simons six-hitter and started the Cape Ann League regular season with a 6-3 win over Newburyport on Wednesday afternoon at Cashman Park.

The senior-less Vikings (2-5) tallied three runs in the first and never trailed.  The Clippers (3-4) got within a run in the fourth but a collection of loud outs with runners in scoring position, and base running gaffes, kept them from getting closer.

Newburyport ended three innings with loud outs to the outfield with runners aboard.  They also ran into a double play in the seventh on a rope to shortstop Shannon Sinton.

Triton had nine hits off of Molly Rowe including four in the first and another three in the fifth.  Bunching those hits produced five Viking runs.

In the Triton first, Shannon Sinton and Jeanne Martin had singles off second baseman Amy Sullivan’s glove.  An inch or two either way and they would have been outs but on this day Shannon eventually scored (passed ball) and Jeanne drove in Kelsey Trudel with the third Viking run.

Lea Tomasz slides under the tag of Rose Gaffins.

Newburyport got two back in their half of the fourth.  Lea Tomasz delivered Carley Siemasko with a long double to left.  Lea took third on the throw to the plate and came home on a passed ball.

Triton came right back with two in the fifth.  A perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Shannon Sinton put Mara Spears in scoring position.  Cori Simons’ single to right brought Mara in with Run #4.  Cori then stole second, reached 3rd on a fielder’s choice and came in on a controversial (was it fair?) flair near the right field line.

Several bad throws gave the Vikings a gift run in the 7th with pinch runner Ashley Shute scoring on Lily Anderson’s single to deep short.

Down by four in their last at-bats, the Clippers had the makings of a big rally after a double (Molly Rowe) and a single (Beth Castantini) turned up a run with no outs.  But Sam Wahlgren’s line drive was right at shortstop Shannon Sinton and she turned it into a double play.  Cori Simons finished the game recording her fourth strikeout.

Aggressive base running was good news/bad news for Amy Sullivan.  The sophomore second baseman stole second in the six inning but got caught easily trying to take third on the overthrow.

Newburyport has played six of its first seven games at home.  They will play at Manchester-Essex on Friday.

Triton will face Rockport at home on Friday.

Had the weather trifecta at Cashman – cloudy, rainy, and sunny.

Kendra Dow makes a running catch as teammate Sam Wahlgren looks for a deflection.

Amy Sullivan and Kendra Dow had nice catches on popups.

Cori Simons, Lily Anderson, and Kelsey Trudel each had two hits for Triton.  Beth Castantini had two for Newburyport.

On the controversial (Is it fair?) fly to right in the Triton sixth inning, the home plate umpire had to make the call.  The problem was that he was looking over/around several players to do it.  Where was the other ump?  Because there were runners on base, he wasn’t on the first base line.

Triton boxscore

Newburyport boxscore

(The pictures above and below enlarge if you click on them.)

Triton coach Jim Hounam

Mara Spears

Carley Siemasko chases controversial fly ball

Molly Rowe

Lauren Singer & Cori Simons

Maddie Stanton

Kelsey Trudel

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April 13, 2012 · 10:15 pm

Masconomet defeats Newburyport (9-6) in nine innings in softball

Lauren Singer tagged out at third by Julia OReilly.

Rachel Shamon pitched nine innings and had three RBI

(Newburyport)  A lot of, “Where have you been’s,” were probably heard after the Masco/Newburyport softball game at Cashman Park on Friday afternoon.

Why?  Those on hand saw nine innings and thirty hits (fifteen apiece) before Masconomet (4-0) defeated Newburyport, 9-6, and some of those attending may have gotten home a little late for supper.

The Clippers (1-2) tied the score in the sixth on a Lauren Singer RBI single and had promising opportunities in the seventh and eighth to get a walk-off win.

Masco pitcher Rachel Shamon, however, escaped a 2-on situation in the 7th by getting Molly Rowe to ground out.  In the 8th, Carley Siemasko led off with a single and reached second on a wild pitch but Rachel got Lea Tomasz to fly to right to end that threat.

Maddie Stanton – three hits and two RBI

The Chieftains won this game with three runs in the ninth.  Rachel Shamon drilled a shot to center that brought home two of the runs.  Later, Alexandra Mendelsohn would deliver the third run with a single to right.

That was more than enough runs for Rachel to work with in the bottom of the ninth.  She gave up a hit to Beth Castantini to lead off the inning but retired the next three batters in order to end the game.

Rachel (junior) ended up with three RBI and five strikeouts.

Masco took a 1-0 lead in the second when Shannon Beaton’s bloop single over the drawn in Clipper infield scored Alexandra Mendelsohn.

Vicki Allman came across in the second for Newburyport on Kendra Dow’s single to right to tie the score.

RBI’s by Molli Marshall and Rachel Shamon put Masco in front 3-1 after 2 ½ innings but the Clippers came right back with three runs of their own to get ahead, 4-3.  Lauren Singer drove in the first of the three runs with a single past first and later Maddie Stanton’s single up the middle brought in two more.

The Clippers handed out two gifts in the fourth.  After Julia O’Reilly reached on an infield single, Shannon Beaton dropped down a bunt.  The Clippers tried to get the runner going to second.  The throw was wild and by the time Newburyport recovered, Julia had scored and Shannon was on third.  So instead of an out and a runner on, Masco had a run in and a runner on third.  A wild pitch enabled Shannon to score Masco’s third run of the inning and sixth run of the game.

Carley Siemasko nailed at third.

In the bottom of the fourth, Newburyport ran into an out.  Molly Rowe reached on an infield single.  Carley Siemasko hit a long triple scoring Molly but was picked off after putting on the brakes too far beyond third.  As luck would have it, two batters later Lauren Singer hit a single that would have scored Carley. The Clippers had to settle for only one run in that inning but they had tied the score at five.

Masco went ahead once more in the fifth as Julia O’Reilly’s sacrifice fly scored Alexandra Mendelsohn.

Newburyport would rally to tie the game in the 6th and have chances to end it in the 7th and 8th.  Masco, however, held on and put this one away in the ninth.

Shortstop Taylor Evans had three hits for Masco and made several strong throws in the field.

Freshman Lauren Singer and Senior Maddie Stanton each had three hits for Newburyport.  Lauren took a ball on the thigh (she’s the catcher) that was painful.

Beth Castantini pitched the first five for the Clippers and Molly Rowe the last four.

Shortstop Kendra Dow made a complete recovery in the field from the adventure she had against North Reading.

Masco boxscore

Newburyport boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Taylor Evans reaches second

Alexandra Mendelsohn slides home

Kendra Dow tries to get runner going to third

Carley Siemasko – triple, single, two walks, and two runs scored

Masco mound conference

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April 11, 2012 · 8:02 pm

Newburyport gets “mercy ruled” (16-4) by North Reading in softball

Close play at third involving Maddie Stanton and Jess Eisenhaure.

NR pitcher Terri Ferrazzani – eight strikeouts

(Newburyport) You know that things haven’t gone well in a softball game for one team when the topic of conversation after the game is the Mercy Rule.

And it was Newburyport (1-1) on the wrong side of the Mercy Rule as they were wiped out, 16-4, by North Reading (3-0) in a rule-shortened, 5 ½ inning game at Cashman Park on Wednesday afternoon.

As it was the game should have ended during the top of the 6th instead of after it because the Hornets had reached the 12-run margin necessary during the inning to be awarded the win.

And believe me, this was a game worthy of being ended early.  The Clippers are a good team but on this day……not so good.  The Hornets were a very good team on this day.

The only (?) positive takeaway for Newburyport from this one was their hitting in the bottom of the fifth.  The Clippers needed four runs to extend the game and they got them.  The key hit was a long triple by sophomore Victoria Allman that drove in two of the four runs.

Victoria Allman reaches third on a two-run triple in the 5th inning.

Winning pitcher Terri Ferrazzani (CAL All-Leaguer) yielded just five hits and had eight strikeouts during her five innings of work.  The junior threw heat and didn’t walk anyone.

And while Terri shut out the Clippers during the first four innings, the Hornets hit the servings of Molly Rowe and Victoria Allman hard.  North Reading rolled up twelve runs on thirteen hits during the first four.  The Clipper defense struggled with the difficult plays as well as several routine chances and gave NR way too many bonus at-bats.

There were plenty of heroes for North Reading. Here is what their first six batters did:
Shelby Carney – single/double/stolen base/four runs scored.
Tarah Reilly – double/stolen base/two runs scored.
Merri Moise – two singles/triple/two runs scored.
Alicia McCauley – two singles/run scored.
Terri Ferrazzani – four singles/stolen base/run scored.
Courtney Brosnan – three singles/run scored.

Lower in their order Jess Eisenhaure had a triple, double, and scored a run.

Merri Moise – two singles and a triple

You get the point……the NR girls, on this day, hit ropes, lasers, and rockets and jammed the bases!  Another day, who knows?

This was a nonleague game so there will be a regular season game (April 30th at North Reading) between the two teams.

Freshman Carley Siemasko had Newburyport’s first hit with two out in the third inning.

North Reading was 14-9 last year and reached the D2 North semi-finals.

Junior Terri Ferrazzani tossed a one-hitter against Triton on Monday with 12 K’s.

The Hornets play at Ipswich on Friday afternoon.

Newburyport hopes to recover against Masco at home on Friday.

The wind was not a factor on this sunny afternoon with temperatures in the 50s.

North Reading boxscore

Newburyport boxscore

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge if you click on them.)

NR coach Rusty Russell

Kendra Dow

Jess Eisenhaure

Shelby Carney

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April 9, 2012 · 8:55 pm

Newburyport wins softball opener (3-2) over Lynnfield

Beth Castantini moves in to catch a deflection off of the glove of Maddie Stanton.

(Newburyport)  The Newburyport Clippers hung on to defeat Lynnfield, 3-2,  at cloudy, windy Cashman Park on Monday afternoon in nonleague action.

Not until dangerous Mel Mancinelli’s pop nestled into Clipper second baseman Jackie Krusemark’s glove for the final out was this game a W for the home team.

The inning before (6th) Mel had slammed a very long triple to deep centerfield and in this at bat had teammates on first and third trailing by a run.

But the Clippers survived to win their season opener as well as an initial win for new coach Lori Solazzo.

For the Clippers. retiring Mel Mancinelli for the last out was important but maybe even more important was a throw from centerfielder Lea Tomasz to catcher Lauren Singer that nailed Julia Goldstein for the final out of the sixth inning.  The Pioneers had to settle for two runs, and a tie score, in that inning.

Catcher Lauren Singer fields the throw from Lea Tomasz

 

Julia Goldstein tagged out at the plate.

Newburyport pushed across the actual game winner in the bottom of the sixth.  Maddie Stanton singled to center and reached third after a passed ball and a fielder’s choice.  Kendra Dow’s single to right drove Maddie home.

The Clippers picked up their other two runs in the 4th.  The wind/dust seemed to catch up to Pioneer right fielder Julia Sheehan and she dropped a catchable fly ball off Beth Castantini’s bat and she reached third.  Lea Tomasz scored the Clipper’s first run on the 3-base error.  Later Maddie Stanton drove Beth across for run #2.

Mel Mancinelli tripled in the 6th inning

That 2-0 lead held up until the sixth when the Pioneers tied the score.  Mel Mancinelli was delivered by Amanda McQueen’s single.  Two wild pitches later Amanda was on third and from there came home on Jackie Whelan’s single.

Pioneer Amanda LaSpina was called out for runner interference in the 3rd against first baseman Molly Rowe while Molly was nailed with the same call interfering with shortstop Katie Rowe in the 4th.

Centerfielder Sarah Flood made a nice running catch in the 5th on Beth Castantini’s sinking liner.

Winning pitcher Beth Castantini finished with seven K’s getting at least one in every inning except the seventh.

The umpires had both teams hollering in the seventh inning as close plays went the wrong way depending on the sideline you were on.

Beth Castantini struck out seven

Jackie Whelan scattered six hits for Lynnfield.  She also drove in a run.

Lea Tomasz, Maddie Stanton, and Kendra Dow had two hits each for Newburyport.

Lynnfield (1-1) hosts Ipswich on Wednesday.

Newburyport (1-0) returns to Cashman Park on the same day to play North Reading.

Lynnfield probably should have guessed it wasn’t their day in the 4th inning when Jackie Whelan’s popup bounced off of Maddie Stanton’s glove into Beth Castantini’s.

April games at Cashman are always challenging.  Today, however, was windier than usual and every now and then the infield dust would swirl toward the Lynnfield side of the field.

Former NHS coach Peter Murray was an interested spectator.

Newburyport box score

Lynnfield box score

(The pictures above and below enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Sam Wahlgren

ball gets away from Julia Sheehan

Lea Tomasz forced at second by Katie Rowe

Second baseman Jackie Krusemark gets final out.

Catcher Lauren Singer prepares her equipment

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April 4, 2012 · 7:29 pm

Pictures from Newburyport Pentucket Ipswich outdoor track meet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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March 2, 2012 · 2:24 am

Newburyport gets a twenty-point lead by halftime and cruises to 56-42 win over Watertown in the D3 North

Ian Michaels (23 points) gets down the lane

Alex Losh defends Cory Fitzgerald

(Newburyport) Shorthanded Watertown got into a deep rut in the first half and never recovered bowing to Newburyport, 56-42, on a snowy/slippery Thursday night at NHS.

The win gets the Clippers (15-6) into the quarterfinals at home against #5 seed Arlington Catholic Sunday night at 5PM.

The #13 Raiders (6-15) were without Pat McHugh.  Pat injured his ankle in practice two days ago.  He had thirty-two points in Watertown’s opening win of the season.  Significant loss…..you bet!

The Clippers were well rested (hadn’t played in nearly two weeks) and played nearly flawlessly on both ends of the court for the first half.  Newburyport ran their lead to, 34-14, by halftime and the visitors would never get inside ten points the rest of the way.

action under the basket

Ian Michaels (23 points) had it going early with the Clippers first eight points.  The junior guard had fourteen in the decisive first half.

Newburyport from the Cape Ann League ran some of basketball’s basic plays (backdoor cuts, pick-and-roll) to perfection.  “Sharp” is the best way I can describe their execution.

Without Pat McHugh to score some points on the inside, Watertown from the Middlesex League tried to compete via the long ball.  They ended up hitting seven of them but on this night Newburyport had answers.

Watertown’s best burst of offense was by Kevin DiPietrantonio (12 points) who connected on eight straight points with a layup and two triples.  Kevin’s scoring brought the Raiders to, 47-33, 1 ½ minutes into the final period.  But Newburyport answered with an Alex Losh layup on an inbounds play and an AJ MacDougall layin.

The Raiders cut the lead to ten (51-41) late but the early deficit was too much to overcome.

Brett Fontaine of Newburyport went down with an ankle injury in the third period and didn’t return.

sophomore Cesar Fulcar (16 points)

Cesar Fulcar led the Raider scorers with sixteen points.

Colby Morris had four assists in the Clipper first half.

Watertown had seven turnovers in the second quarter and that combined with looking for scoring to replace Pat McHugh hurt them significantly.

The win avenges a loss Watertown handed Newburyport (55-31) in the Division 3 North final at the Tsongas Arena last year.

The road conditions after the game were scary/dangerous.  I couldn’t get my truck with studded tires up my driveway despite four or five attempts.  Driving back to Watertown had to have been an “adventure” for the Raider fans.

Newburyport boxscore

Watertown boxscore

(The pictures above and below will enlarge significantly if you click on them.)

Ian Michaels

Colton Fontaine (8 points) layup

Brett Fontaine down

Colby Morris

Joey Farrar (11 points)

NHS coach Tom LItalien

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March 2, 2012 · 1:16 am

Defense key to Newburyport win over Saugus (50-43) in D3 North First Round

Gabby Cogliano (12 points) looks for an opening against the Newburyport defense.

Beth Castantini (14 points) looks for daylight

(Newburyport) In a game with fifty-two turnovers it was hardly a work of art but Newburyport rallied from a 3-point deficit with 3 ½ minutes left to defeat Saugus, 50-43, on slippery Thursday night at Newburyport.

Newburyport (14-7) now moves on to the Quarterfinals of D3 North and will face Pentucket on Sunday afternoon (1PM) at Whittier in Haverhill.

A Gabby Cogliano converted rebound gave the Sachems a 43-40 lead with 3:47 left.  At this point the #11 seed was in position to knock off the #6 seed on the road.

However, Saugus (8-13) would not score a single point the rest of the way and commit four turnovers.  Newburyport had a well setup three from Lea Tomasz and made seven pressure-packed free throws out of eight attempts to grab the victory.

Lea came into the game for an inbounds play on the opposite side of the court.  Positioned beyond the arc in front of the Clipper bench, Ally Leahy got the ball to Lea for a clean look and the junior connected.

Lea’s triple gave Newburyport a 45-43 lead with three minutes to go.  The next 2 ½ minutes the teams took turns missing and turning the ball over.  One huge play for the Clippers was a block by Lilly Donovan on Allyssa Furtado in the lane with twenty seconds left.

Saugus was forced to foul and Beth Castantini made two free throws with fourteen seconds left to give Newburyport a little breathing room – 47-43.  After Stefani Terrazzano missed a three, Cady Bennett was fouled (hard) and made one freebie.  Beth closed out the scoring with two more free throws.

Jackie Nickolas blocks Molly Rowe

Saugus got up by as many as eight (22-14) in the second quarter but their wasted possessions (thirty-three turnovers) enabled Newburyport to stay in the game.  That eight-point lead shrunk to one point as the Sachems had eight turnovers in a five minute stretch.

Credit the Clipper defense.  They double-teamed anyone who handled the ball and were rewarded for it.

Newburyport put a 12-2 run together in the third quarter featuring two steals that led to points and a Molly Rowe long one.  This surge put the Clippers in front, 33-27, with 2 ½ minutes left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter another Molly Rowe three had Newburyport leading 39-35 with six minutes left.  But for the next two minutes the Sachems put up eight points on the inside with the Clippers only answer a Cady Bennett free throw.  This gave Saugus the 43-40 advantage that slipped away from them in the final 3 ½ minutes.

Allyssa Furtado (19 points)

Senior Allyssa Furtado ended her high school career with a very solid nineteen points.

Newburyport can thank their defensive effort for this win.  When they started trapping in the second half the Sachems struggled to run any sort of offense.

Cady Bennett was the key to the success of the Clipper pressure.

Beth Castantini picked up her third foul early in the second half and didn’t return until the 4th period.

Pentucket coach John McNamara was in the house.  His team has defeated Newburyport twice this season.

Newburyport boxscore

Saugus boxscore

(The pictures above and below will enlarge significantly if you click on them.)

floor scramble

Lilly Donovan

Molly Rowe (13 points)

Norma Waggett (11 points)

Gabby Cogliano

NHS coach Gregg Dollas

Cady Bennett

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February 22, 2012 · 8:56 pm

Beth Castantini Trifecta: 28 points, 1000 points, and Newburyport win (55-36) over Marblehead

(Marblehead) Beth Castantini needed eight points to get to 1000.  The Clipper senior took care of that business before the first quarter was over, then went on to get twenty more in a 55-36 Newburyport win over Marblehead on Wednesday afternoon.

Beth Castantini poses with teammates after the game

Beth Castantini with Coach Gregg Dollas and her parents

This was a nonleague game that ends the regular season for the two tournament-qualifying teams. A team needs ten wins to get in.

In this game, Newburyport (13-7) broke away from a 2-2 tie and never looked back.

Clippers celebrate 1000-point moment in a timeout

Beth’s spin inside in the opening quarter gave her the points she needed for 1000 with little over a minute left.  She followed the 1000th point basket with a jumper off a rebound and a feed to Lilly Donovan for a score before the quarter ended.  That trio of baskets put Newburyport ahead, 19-7.

A run of six by Lindsey Cohen (18 points) put some intrigue back in the game (19-13) but a Beth baseline jumper and an assist on a Lea Tomasz jump shot gave the Clippers a 27-18 advantage at halftime.

It should be noted that during that second quarter, point guard Aly Leahy rolled her ankle and didn’t return.  The Clippers will need her back when tournament play starts next week.

It should also be noted that with Aly out, the point guard the rest of the way was the versatile Beth Castantini.

Lindsey Cohen (18 points) on her way to one of her eight layups

The Magicians were still within nine (34-25) with 3 ½ to go in the third quarter.  However, they didn’t score a point over the next three minutes as Newburyport offered up nine straight.

This is how Newburyport collected the nine unanswered: Beth layup after a terrific save by Lilly Donovan of a ball going out of bounds, a Katy Bennett free throw, a converted rebound of her own miss by Mary Pettigrew, two Beth free throws, and an inbounds (pass from Molly Rowe) jump shot in the lane by Beth.

That solid offense turned the nine-point deficit into an eighteen-point deficit (43-25) and significantly lessened the  suspense in predicting the outcome.  The closest Marblehead could get the rest of the way was thirteen (47-34) midway through the last quarter.

Senior Lindsey Cohen scored well for Marblehead.  The Clippers had trouble keeping her from taking the ball to the basket – all of her points came from layups.

Beth attracts defenders

All of Beth’s twenty-eight points were made in the first three quarters.  She also had four assists.  There were no 3’s in the point collection.  The Magician defense obviously were aware of her but didn’t have a matchup or a defense to keep her from getting good looks in high percentage areas.

Marblehead (10-10) will be in Division 2 of the state tournament.  Newburyport is Division 3.

Newburyport won the first meeting (43-25) on Martin Luther King Monday.  In that game, Marblehead was missing two starters – Kathryn Digiammarino and Sydney Pliner.  The Clippers were without Molly Rowe.  Beth had twenty the first time around.

Newburyport made their two 3’s at the end of the game.  Seldom-hesitant, long-range shooter Casey Barlow made the first and seldom-looking-for-her-shot Caty Bennett had the second go in off the backboard.

I saw St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newman in the house.  Let’s see, his team (last year’s state champs) is in D3 and Newburyport is in D3.……..

Newburyport boxscore

Marblehead boxscore

(The pictures above and below will enlarge if you click on them.)

Beth with her parents

Beth with Coach Dollas

Mary Pettigrew heads down the lane

action under the basket

Lea Tomasz shoots over Emily Freedland (7 points)

Aly Leahy

McKenna Barrett (#20) and Lindsey Cohen (#15)

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February 13, 2012 · 11:58 pm

Pentucket wins 7th straight defeating Newburyport 49-30 in girls basketball

Coley Viselli (15 points) applies backcourt pressure to Molly Rowe.

Sarah Higgins (13 points) breaks away after steal

(West Newbury)  Pentucket defeated Newburyport, 49-30, on Monday night in a game that was settled in the third quarter.

The Sachems (15-4) scored the first fourteen points in that decisive quarter, helped by six Clipper turnovers, and Pentucket’s 24-17 halftime lead burst into a 38-17 rout with 2 ½ minutes left in that quarter.

The Clippers (11-7) put together a 10-2 run in the final quarter but had given up way too much ground in the previous quarter to pose any sort of challenge late.

Pentucket has now won seven straight and twelve of their last thirteen.  To say that they’re on a roll, is an understatement.  Their pressure defense forces opponents to be uncomfortable anywhere on the court.  Against the Clippers, their half-court offense looked very smooth.

Beth Castantini (10 points) shoots over Tori Lane

The Clippers/Sachems matched up in the season opener on December 12th in Newburyport. Pentucket won, 44-37.  In that one, Newburyport trailed by just two (35-32) with five minutes left.  The Sachems pressure defense worked but their poor long-range shooting kept the game close.

This time the Sachems kept the pressure defense (forced twenty turnovers) but took fewer long ones and instead took more drives to the basket.  Pentucket made fifteen baskets (other than free throws) and twelve of them were layups, another basket was a converted rebound, and the other two were three’s.

The Pentucket pressure gave Newburyport a lot of problems as expected but the killer for the Clippers was the early foul trouble of Lilly Donovan and Mary Pettigrew.  Both of them had four fouls, two minutes into the second half.

Coley Viselli breaks loose

It was no coincidence that with Lilly and Mary on the bench Pentucket’s five-point run, that started the third quarter, turned into a fourteen-point run.

The Pentucket points in The Run were; Leigh McNamara -free throw,  Sarah Higgins – two layups (assisted on one of them by Alex Moore), and Coley Viselli – layup, two free throws and a three assisted by Sarah Higgins.

The home team started fast jumping in front 14-5 after three minutes.  But credit the Clippers, they rallied back into contention (16-13) midway into the second quarter with a three by Beth Castantini from Lilly Donovan within the rally.

A jump shot by Meri Adsit (from Molly Rowe) with ten seconds left had the Clippers within range (24-17) at the half.

Last year the Clippers upset Pentucket (53-52) at Pentucket so the seven-point halftime deficit didn‘t appear insurmountable.  But six minutes of playing time later, that wasn’t the case.

Coley Viselli (15 points) led all scorers while teammates Sarah Higgins and Tess Nogueira had 13 points apiece.  The trio was solid on defense as well.

Aly Leahy defended by Alex Moore

Beth Castantini paced Newburyport with ten points while teammate Aly Leahy had nine points.

Pentucket has their last home game on Wednesday against Triton.

Newburyport will look to end their four-game losing streak at Amesbury on Thursday.  AHS coach Chris Perry just “happened” to be at the game tonight.

There was a rumor at the game that the gymnasium would soon be named after Al Gore.  Most of the folks there were hot under the collar by game’s end.

One of the referees gave NHS coach Gregg Dollas a warning (for friendly advice?) with two minutes left in the first half.  From long range, it sounded to me as if the referee told the scorekeeper, “Two minute warning on the Newburyport coach.”  That somehow sounded like football terminology to me.

The young lady singing the national anthem without a microphone gets an emphatic, “Wow!”

Pentucket boxscore

Newburyport boxscore

(All the pictures above and below will enlarge if you click on them.)

national anthem

Tess Nogueira fronts Beth Castantini

Sarah Higgins passes to Liza Brackbill

Molly Rowe drives baseline

Lilly Donovan tries to get by Sydney Snow

Meri Adsit shoots

Alex Moore

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February 10, 2012 · 11:57 pm

North Andover starts fast and never looks back in 47-36 win over Newburyport in girls basketball

Morgan Lumb (22 points) launches a triple. She made four of them in the game.

(Newburyport)  North Andover started NASCAR fast and left Newburyport in the distant dust while cruising to a 47-36 win at NHS on Friday night.

NHS senior sign

Prior to the Newburyport’s final regular-season home game, the Clippers recognized their three seniors (Beth Castantini, Molly Rowe, and Cady Bennett) and their parents. That was the last celebrating the home team would do.

The Knights shut down Newburyport for the opening six minutes and were up twelve zip.  NA hit the Clippers hard on both ends.  Their trapping and scrapping wrecked any kind of flow toward Clipper scoring opportunities while on offense their passing and cutting gave great looks.

NHS coach Gregg Dollas went through two quick timeouts with the volume in the huddle much louder in the second one.

After the noisy timeout the Clippers put in their best six minutes of play in the game.  They outscored the visitors, 16-7, and trailed only, 19-16, with four minutes to go in the first half.  The key to the good play was getting points from seven different players.  Meri Adsit had an old-fashioned 3-point play assisted by Molly Rowe to highlight the Clipper surge.  As the points rolled up, it was North Andover coach Susan Breen using a timeout to try and cool off Newburyport.

Leah Chittick (12 points) flies in for a layup.

And did the Clippers cool off.  It was like the disastrous beginning of this game all over again.  NA rattled off seven straight to end the first half (26-16) and their run wasn’t finished.

The third quarter saw NA’s Morgan Lumb put on an awfully good Brooke Stewart (Masco) impersonation, dropping fifteen of her game-high twenty-two points on the stunned Clippers.  There were three triples, a nifty spin down the lane, a turnover turned into a layup, and two free throws.  Dazzling display by the junior!

The Clippers found themselves behind, 43-21, after three quarters.

The final score of some games is misleading and this is certainly one of them.  NA got up, 45-21, fifteen seconds into the last quarter and didn’t get any more points until the very end, as liberal substituting kicked in for both teams.  The Clippers put together a collection of fourteen unanswered points but never got closer than ten.

Senior Beth Castantini (10 points) heavily defended by MacKenzie Mello

Newburyport (11-6) has all road games left starting Monday night with arguably the best team in the league, Pentucket, at Pentucket.  The Clippers have now lost three straight and need to find some positive traction before the Division 3 state tournament starts.

North Andover (10-6) qualified for the Division 2 state tournament with the win over Newburyport.  Their record is a bit deceiving since they lost to the best girls’ team in the state (Andover) twice this season.  The Knights next game is versus Triton at home on Tuesday night.

Freshman Leah Chittick had twelve points for the Knights.

Beth Castantini (10 points) led the Clipper scorers.  Lilly Donovan had six points and had the unenviable task of chasing Morgan Lumb around for a good part of the night.

I had hoped to get a picture of the seniors with their parents but it just didn’t work out.

North Andover boxscore

Newburyport boxscore

(All the pictures above and below enlarge significantly if you click on them.)

Morgan Lumb

Rebecca Kell shoots

Senior Cady Bennett

Aly Leahy and Leah Chittick

Alex Medlock defends

Senior Molly Rowe

Pam Coufos breaks away

loose ball

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