Category Archives: Pentucket

December 21, 2013 · 11:54 pm

Notre Dame (Hingham) pins rare loss on Pentucket 36-32

Kendra Delahunt (12 points) looks for an opening between Kelsi McNamara and Riley Holden

Janey Mathisen (8 points) scored the last five points for Notre Dame Academy

(West Newbury MA) The Pentucket girls don’t lose very often. Under Coach John McNamara, the Sachems have an extraordinary 159-21 record.

But on Saturday afternoon Notre Dame Academy (Hingham) rallied to pin one of those losses on the Sachems, 36-32, in a nonleague game.

Both teams had significant roster turnovers and plenty of inexperienced players saw significant minutes. The result? Turnovers and missed shots galore.

Pentucket (1-1) is a team that likes to press their way into points and are usually successful at it. Teams make mistakes in the backcourt and the Sachems run up points in a hurry. That consecutive point thing, however, just never happened against the Cougars (3-0) thanks to the ball-handling/passing skills of Kendra Delahunt (12 points) and Janey Mathisen (8 points).

Most of the NDA miscues, and there were plenty, were in the frontcourt and didn’t lead to breakaway layups.

So with the Pentucket defense not turning up points, there was a need for some good outside shooting. Credit Notre Dame. They played a zone defense that took away most of the open outside shots of the Sachems especially those of Kelsi McNamara. Holding Kelsi to six points with no 3’s was a key to the Notre Dame victory.

Hannah Hollow (#21) tries for a 4th three

But those on hand at Pentucket are muttering as they read, “What about #21 in the fourth quarter?” And they make a great point.

Sophomore Hannah Hollow (#21) almost single-handedly pulled this one out for Pentucket. In the first 3+ minutes of the final quarter, Hannah found a spot on the left side and knocked down three straight 3’s. Suddenly in a game in which points were hard to come by, the Sachems had a bunch of them and actually grabbed the lead, 32-31, with 4:47 left to play.

But Pentucket wouldn’t score again and the Cougars, despite five turnovers the rest of the way, had enough to win with two inside scores by Janey Mathisen. Janey added a free throw with eleven seconds left to ice this one for the visitors.

Ironically, in a game where Pentucket could have used a boost in almost every area of the game, there in the stands were key graduated parts of the 24-2 team of 2012-13……………..Alex Moore, Tess Nogueira, and Coley Viselli. That threesome was great at providing offense and defense.

A trio of Pentucket defenders chase Janey Mathisen

Notre Dame “helped” keep the game close by struggling from the free throw line. The Cougars missed twelve of twenty-three attempts including four of their last five in the final quarter.

Meghan Curtis of NDA was the only senior on either roster.

Interested parties from Hamilton-Wenham and Masco (next two opponents on Pentucket’s schedule) were on hand for this game.

Kayli Hom started for Notre Dame but left due to sickness in that same quarter.

McKenna Kilian (23) and Kelsi McNamara (12)

Pentucket had not played for eight days.

Temperatures in the 50’s were a bit unusual for the first day of winter but I’m not complaining.

Notre Dame was the state Division 2 champions in 2009.

Notre Dame hosts Bishop Fenwick this coming Monday at home (6:30PM). On the same day, Pentucket travels to Hamilton-Wenham for a 5:30PM game.

Notre Dame Academy box

Pentucket box

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

Kelsi McNamara gets double-teamed

Hannah Hollow (9 points) in the corner

Janey Mathisen gives NDA the lead for good in the 4th quarter converting a rebound

opening tip

NDA coach Mike Barrett talks to his team

Taylor Moore (20) heads down the middle

Kendra Delahunt (45) leads a fast break

McKenna Kilian (23) goes for the block

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Filed under Notre Dame Academy (Hingham), Pentucket

Tagged as Hannah Hollow, Janey Mathisen, Kendra Delahunt, Pentucket High School

April 26, 2013 · 9:56 pm

Solid defense and pitching get Newburyport past Pentucket 6-2

Newburyport coach Lori Solazzo sends Molly Stanton home in the seventh inning.

Vicki Allman struck out nine batter and issued no walks.

(Groveland) Newburyport snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Pentucket, 6-2, on Friday afternoon at the Pines Athletic Field in Cape Ann League softball.

The Clippers (3-4) were flawless in the field. It certainly helped that there were only three infield chances on the ground in the entire game.

Vicki Allman tossed a six-hitter with nine strikeouts for NHS. She was able to get six fly-ball outs – five of them to centerfielder Lea Tomasz. She allowed no walks.

It took a hit for the Sachems to get on base in this one.

Pentucket (1-7) had five errors and four unearned runs resulted, according to my unofficial count.

Miscues by third baseman Megan Haley and leftfielder Madison Newton enabled Lauren Singer and Meghan Stanton to register two runs in the second inning.

Meanwhile, Vicki Allman faced only nine batters during the first three innings. Megan Haley did reach on a hits batsman in the second but was gunned down trying to steal on a throw from catcher Lauren Singer to shortstop Kendra Dow.

Megan Haley tags out Kendra Dow at third.

The Clippers picked up their third run in the fourth. Lauren Singer singled and scored on Kendra Dow’s double. Kendra was thrown out at third, trying to stretch that double, ending the inning, but NHS led, 3-0.

Pentucket broke through with a run in the fourth on consecutive doubles by sophomores Kassidy Kennefick and Maddy Ammon to lead off the inning.
Consecutive fly outs to centerfielder Lea Tomasz ended the inning.

In the fifth, Newburyport added a run to their lead. A walk (Ashley Hodge), a double (Lea Tomasz), and an error on a hot shot by Carley Siemasko at Megan Haley at 3B produced the run.

The Clippers put up two more runs in the seventh to pad their advantage to, 6-1. A triple (Carley Siemasko) and a walk (Vicki Allman) set the stage with one out. Molly Stanton pinch ran for Vicki. As Molly broke for second (trying to steal) the batter (Lauren Singer) hit an infield grounder. Because Molly was running the throw to second was not in time. The play wasn’t over. Two errant Pentucket throws in a row (one to home) enabled two Clippers to score.

Kassidy Kennefick heads for home in the seventh inning.

That five-run cushion came in handy for Newburyport in the seventh. Mary Kate Corrado singled (Allison Knowles ran for her) with no outs. Angelica Arredondo followed with an absolute screamer at NHS third baseman Meghan Stanton that the sophomore caught.

That grab was crucial because next batter Megan Haley whacked a double to deep center. So instead of three straight hits the Sachems had runners on second and third. Emmy Desjardins drove in Allison Knowles with a fly ball to left before Nicolette Kent was called out on strikes to end the game.

Pentucket played without 2012 Cape Ann League All Star Sydney Snow (sore elbow).

NHS catcher Lauren Singer threw out two runners attempting to steal. She also scored two runs and had a hit and an RBI.

Sophomore Kassidy Kennefick made several nice plays at short. She also had two hits and scored a run.

Lauren Singer is tagged out at home by pitcher Tyler Feeney.

Tyler Feeney went the distance for the Sachems. She allowed seven hits and gave up four walks. The defense behind her? You already know about that!

This was my first look at Molly Kelly (up for the JV’s) for Newburyport. Molly had a single in the sixth inning.

Graduated Maddy Stanton was on hand to take this one in.

I had never been to this field before. I realized once I found it that it was the site of the old Pine Speedway. I spent quite a few college years’ Saturdays watching the races. The track closed in 1972.

Next game for both teams is on Monday. Newburyport will be at Manchester-Essex while Pentucket visits Lynnfield.

Mary Kate Corrado

Mary Kate Corrado batted .456 last season. No wonder she made the CAL All-League team.

Pentucket played four games this week. In one of them, they knocked off previously undefeated (in the CAL) North Reading.

Newburyport boxscore

Pentucket boxscore

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

Sydney Snow

Vicki Allman gets rid of her mask after striking out the last batter of the game.

Meghan Stanton sets to throw to second baseman Jackie Krusemark

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Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Kassidy Kennefick, Lauren Singer, Mary Kate Corrado, Meghan Stanton, Sydney Snow, Vicki Allman

March 11, 2013 · 10:52 pm

Archbishop Williams defeats Pentucket 52-38 to reach state Division 3 finals

Coley Viselli faces defender Alana Gilmer

Archbishop Williams – state Division 3 finalists

(Boston) The Boston Globe had Archbishop Williams as the second-best team in the state behind Reading before today’s state semi-finals.

The #7 seed Archies (22-5) looked awfully good in their, 52-38, Division Three state semi-finals win over Pentucket at the TD Garden on Monday afternoon.

When I learned that Reading had been beaten by Medfield later today in the Division 2 semifinals, I think that it is safe to say that Archbishop Williams is now the best in the East in all divisions.

Lee will be the Archies’ opponent on Saturday at the Worcester Centrum (10:45AM) for the state Division Three title. Just to caution the overconfident in the East: the Lee girls basketball program has won more state titles than any school in Massachusetts.

Alana Gilmer (12 points)

The Bishops were able to gain separation (18-9) from the Sachems with a ten-point run in the last three minutes of the first quarter. A new three (Kayla Free), a converted rebound (Alana Gilmer), an old-fashioned three (Leah Spencer), and a layup at the buzzer (Jaylen Williams) provided the decisive 10-spot.

The Sachems (24-2) chased the Archies the rest of the afternoon. The undersized girls from West Newbury were within four (20-16) in the second quarter and five (28-23) in the third quarter.

The Sachems had their best moments in the final quarter when their pressing defense forced two turnovers and four quick points (two Kelsi McNamara free throws and Tess Nogueira layup from Kelsi). Pentucket was suddenly within six (40-34) with six minutes left.

Those who have seen Pentucket play, envisioned the start of a big run and an interesting finish. Didn’t happen. Sara Ryan answered with a three. Kelsi followed with two free throws. That put the difference at seven (43-36).

Pentucket then went into a five-minute scoring drought that sealed their fate. During the same time frame, Archbishop Williams added eight points to their lead (51-36), and the reserves from both sides finished the last minute. Jaylen Williams tallied from in close twice and Leah Spencer and Katryna Veasey had the other baskets in the late-game run.

There were few easy baskets at any time for Pentucket. 6-3 sophomore Jaylen Williams patrolled the lane on defense and the usual drives of the Sachems were discouraged.

Leah Spencer did a good job of keeping Kelsi McNamara (13 points) from getting looks at 3-point attempts. Kelsi had only one three in the game.

6-3 Jaylen Williams

Sophomore 6-footer Alana Gilmer (12 points) put the defensive blanket over Coley Viselli (3 points). Just getting by Alana was difficult for the talented Pentucket senior and there was always 6-3 Jaylen Williams ready to pick up the defensive slack if Coley was driving.

If you had to narrow Pentucket’s twenty-four wins down to two reasons, I would say that one was being able to force turnovers that lead to quick points and the other was making three’s. Neither one of those went the Sachems way on this day.

By my count, Pentucket had fourteen turnovers and the Archies only ten turnovers. Only one of the Archie miscues led to a quick Pentucket basket.

The Sachems made only three long ones. They really had trouble, because of the Archbishop Williams’ height, getting open looks even from long range.

Coley Viselli was injured early in the second quarter but came back before halftime.

At the end of the game, four seniors (Emily Dresser, Coley Viselli, Tess Nogueira, and Alex Moore) had ended their Pentucket hoop careers.

During Coach John McNamara’s seven seasons with Pentucket, the team has always been able to reload the following season despite graduation losses. Don’t bet against it happening again.

Plenty of support on hand at the TD Garden for both teams.

I continue to wonder why those in charge of the chanting student sections don’t discourage them from taunting each other. Directing positive chants toward their own team would make a lot more sense and create fewer hard feelings………but what do I know?

Archbishop Williams boxscore

Pentucket boxscore

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

Kelsi McNamara (13 points) drives on Leah Spencer

Alex Moore gets her shot blocked by Sara Ryan

Tess Nogueira was six-for-six from the line

Coley Viselli heads for the hoop

McKenna Kilian gets into the lane

Tess Nogueira reacts to her 5th foul

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Filed under Archbishop Williams, Pentucket

Tagged as Alana Gilmer, Alex Moore, Coley Viselli, Jaylen Williams, Kelsi McNamara, Leah Spencer, Sara Ryan, Tess Nogueira

March 9, 2013 · 9:46 pm

Pentucket defeats Watertown 38-24 to win Division 3 North title

Pentucket – Division 3 North champs

Coley Viselli (15 points) fires from long range

(Lowell) Some will call it great defense. Some will call it very, very cold shooting.

Take your pick, Pentucket overwhelmed Watertown, 38-24, to win the Division 3 North title on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Center.

The Sachems will face Archbishop Williams (Braintree) at the TD Bank Garden on Monday in a state Division 3 semifinals battle.

Pentucket (24-1) was never behind against the Raiders (13-11).

After a 3-2 start (Kelsi McNamara three & Rachel Campbell layup), this game got away from Watertown completely over the next nine minutes of playing time stretching into the second period.

The Sachems ran off fifteen unanswered points and were ahead, 18-2, before Rachel Campbell made a free throw.

It is not unusual for Pentucket (#1 seed) to put runs of points together off of turnovers but that wasn’t the case here. Simply explained: Pentucket made shots and Watertown didn’t.

Kelsi McNamara (15 points) hit a three on the first Pentucket possession

Kelsi McNamara (15 points) hit a three in the first Pentucket possession

The Sachem points in this run were spread around. Kelsi McNamara (15 points) had a three and a floater in the lane. Coley Viselli (15 points) nailed a three and two driving layups. Alex Moore added a free throw and a layup.

Much of the credit for the nine-minute shutout goes to Pentucket’s half-court defense. The Raiders had little trouble in the backcourt because of point guard Gabby Coppola’s dribbling skills. The frontcourt was a different story. Watertown had very few good looks and had to settle for heavily-defended shot attempts.

Alex Moore and later Kelsi McNamara forced the Raiders top scorer (Gabby Coppola) to be a passer by denying her open looks from the outside and keeping the talented junior from driving.

There were six minutes of first half and the entire second half played after the 18-2 start, but on this day, Watertown couldn’t get enough stops or enough made shots to challenge the defending D3 champs.

looking for a rebound

The Raiders (#11 seed) actually “won” the last twenty-two minutes, 22-20, but it was too little, too late for Watertown.

The Raiders’ drought during those devastating nine minutes in the first half was so noticeable that the Pentucket student section cheered (insincerely) when Rachel Campbell ended the 15-point run with a free throw.

Kelsi McNamara hit two 3’s in the first three minutes and had ten of her fifteen points in the first half. Her defense on Gabby Coppola, when Alex Moore didn’t have her, may have been more valuable than her point totals.

Coley Viselli connected twice from long range and was able to get to the basket three times on scoring drives. The senior became a 1000-point scorer recently in a win over Division 1 Central Catholic.

Kelsi McNamara drives on Gabby Coppola

Kelsi McNamara appeared fully recovered from the calf injury she suffered against Ipswich in the D3 North semifinals. Kelsi went out in this game, with two minutes left, holding her elbow.

Alex Moore had short minutes after hurting her wrist falling during a drive to the basket in the first half.

As I mentioned earlier, turnovers were not a factor. Pentucket had fourteen and Watertown ten.

The foul shooting by both teams was pitiful. The Sachems missed five in eight attempts while the Raiders missed ten in fourteen attempts.

The Pentucket defense held Gabby Coppola to four points on 1-for-8 in field goal attempts.

You watch Pentucket play and wonder when their domination (93-11 over the past four years) will end. Maybe not so soon. Two sophomores start (Kelsi McNamara and McKenna Kilian) and in this game there were significant minutes for junior Sydney Snow, sophomore Sarah Wiles, and freshman Riley Holden.

Rachel Campbell and Riley Holden

Typical of Pentucket was a lack of jumping up-and-down and rushing the court after the win. You could hardly tell afterwards whether they had won or lost! I suspect that they’re saving that post-game excitement for the next game on Monday afternoon.

Rachel Campbell paced the Watertown scorers with seven points.

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

Coley Viselli gets in for two

Sydney Snow (#3)

Gabby Coppola

Pentucket coaching staff

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Filed under Pentucket, Watertown

Tagged as Alex Moore, Coley Viselli, Gabby Coppola, Kelsi McNamara, Pentucket girls basketball, Rachel Campbell, Watertown girls basketball

March 7, 2013 · 12:53 am

Strong finish gets Pentucket past Ipswich 46-26 in Division 3 North semifinals

Alex Moore lines up a free throw. The Sachems made sixteen in the second half.

Coley Viselli (13 points) defends against Julia Davis

(Beverly) Pentucket never seems to run out of ways to defeat other teams. Credit defense and foul shooting as keys to the win over Ipswich.

The Sachems (23-1) broke away from a tight three-point game (27-24) in the last minute of the third quarter and won their Division 3 North semifinal match with Ipswich, 46-26, on Wednesday night at Beverly High School.

Pentucket will face Watertown in the D3 North finals at the Tsongas Center on Saturday.

If you did the math, you now know that Pentucket, over the last nine minutes of this contest, put a 19-2 collection of points on the Tigers.

In fact, the last Ipswich points were registered by Julia Davis (jump shot in the lane) with 7:13 left in the game.

Kelsi McNamara crowds Jenna Gagnon

This was a terribly frustrating outing for a very good Ipswich (19-4) team. They were victimized by turnovers (sixteen by my count) in the first half, put some points together in the third quarter to get to within one possession, and then couldn’t make a shot over the final nine minutes.

The Pentucket pressure defense had plenty to do with the turnovers and the poor shooting. Masey Zegarowski (15 PPG) and Caroline Soucy (10 PPG) saw plenty of defense, especially Masey from Alex Moore. Masey was held to five points and Caroline six points.

The Sachems’ shooting was scary bad in the first half. They had plenty of looks but were missing shots they usually make. They also had Tess Nogueira get into foul trouble and have to sit through much of the second period.

Pentucket led 7-5 after one quarter and 15-12 at the half.

Julia Davis, Caroline Soucy, and Masey Zegarowski

The Tigers took the lead (17-15) early in the third quarter on a three by Caroline Soucy and a jump shot by Julia Davis.

Now the defending state champs were behind and to add to their trouble had Kelsi McNamara (13 points) on the bench with a sore knee. You started to think that this might be the night that the Tigers would take down Pentucket.

But it didn’t happen. Coley Viselli (13 points) took over Kelsi’s point guard spot and Pentucket started taking the ball to the basket. There were some layups but more important to the final outcome, there were eighteen, second-half free throws.

The Sachems were 16-of-18 from the charity stripe in the second half and that may well have been the difference maker. The Tigers were forced outside by outstanding defense and shot poorly and had only four free throws all game.

Kelsi McNamara went out early in the third quarter but came back later to start Pentucket on the 19-2 closing surge.

Kelsi McNamara (13 points) dribbles and Brigid OFlynn chases

Kelsi had both of Pentucket’s three’s.

During the game, Ipswich struck from long range five times – Jenna Gagnon (2), Caroline Soucy (2), and Masey Zegarowski (1).

Alex Moore totaled nine points and McKenna Kilian eight points for Pentucket.

Sophomore Caroline Soucy paced Ipswich with eight points including two long ones.

This was the second time that Ipswich has faced Pentucket in tournament action. Last year it was in the North finals at the Tsongas Center. In that one, the Sachems ran twenty unanswered points in the second half and a 14-10 game turned into a 34-10 rout as Pentucket won, 49-30.

Ipswich student section

The play of both teams was unusually bad in the first half. Why? May have been that both teams had to function on offense in front of the other team’s very active student section.

Pentucket played Saturday’s opponent (Watertown) at Pentucket in the First Round two years ago. The Sachems overwhelmed the young Red Raiders, 52-22, on that occasion.

Watertown was able to eliminate St. Mary’s (62-61) last night. St. Mary’s won the D3 state title two years ago. They eliminated Pentucket that year on the way to the championship. I am sure that no tears were shed in West Newbury when word came of St. Mary’s exit from this year’s tournament.

Pentucket Boxscore

Ipswich Boxscore

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

Alex Moore lines up a three

loose ball

Mine!

Brigid OFlynn and Tess Nogueira

Kelsi McNamara with the trainer afterwards

Masey Zegarowski guarded by Alex Moore

Julia Davis

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Filed under Ipswich, Pentucket

Tagged as Alex Moore, Brigid O'Flynn, Caroline Soucy, Coley Viselli, Julia Davis, Kelsi McNamara, Masey Zegarowski, Tess Nogueira

February 18, 2013 · 11:00 pm

Pentucket defeats Central Catholic 59-49 to take IAABO Board 130 Classic title in girls basketball

Pentucket seniors (Emily Dresser, Coley Viselli, Tess Nogueira, and Alex Moore) with championship plaque

(Lawrence) The Pentucket Sachems defeated Central Catholic, 59-49, in the championship game to win the IAABO Board 130 Classic on Monday night at Central Catholic.

Coley Viselli congratulated after 1000th point

The win was special for Pentucket. Not only did they get their 20th win of the season but senior Coley Viselli reached 1000 points late in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders trailed by one (46-45) with 6:44 left in the game but went into a four-minute scoring drought that featured four turnovers. The Sachems, meanwhile, put a string of nine points together to create a ten-point spread (55-45) with 2:43 to go. CC never recovered.

In the crucial four minutes, Alex Moore (11 points) started things with a layup down the lane and ended it with another layup on an inbounds pass from Coley Viselli (11 points). Also in the mix were two Kelsi McNamara (21 points) free throws and a McKenna Kilian (7 points) three.

Kelsi McNamara (21 points) and Alex Nagri

This game was physical from start to finish. The three officials all brought whistles but seemed intent on letting the girls play. Kelsi McNamara and Alex Nagri both drew technicals because of excessive contact.

Sophomore Kelsi McNamara took home the tourney MVP plaque. Coley Viselli made the All-Tourney team.

I’m sure that Kelsi’s twenty-one points played a part in her selection but her handling of the ball against physical pressure may well have been more important.

On the scoring part, Kelsi hit two 3’s in thirteen seconds to give Pentucket a, 28-21, lead late in the first half.

Kelsi McNamara fires a first-half three

The Sachems ended up with seven long ones – Kelsi (3), Coley Viselli (2), Alex Moore and McKenna Kilian (1 each).

Stonehill-bound Casey McLaughlin (22 points) kept CC in the game for three quarters. The six-foot senior seemed to be wherever the ball was on offense in close.

Casey had a remarkable third quarter putting up fourteen of the Raiders’ eighteen points.

One of the keys to the Pentucket win was shutting Casey down over the last 9 ½ minutes of the game. Credit Coley Viselli on a special scoring night for also playing some special defense on the Raiders top player.

The Sachems jumped on top, 5-0, and held the five-point spread (13-8) with 2 ½ minutes left. While Pentucket was held scoreless, Darion Summers, Amanda Williams (12 points), and Casey McLaughlin scored baskets to give CC a, 14-13, lead after one period.

Kelsi’s two three’s late in the second quarter put Pentucket ahead by seven but Central Catholic responded with two free throws by Courtney Walsh and Casey McLaughlin’s converted rebound. Pentucket led, 28-25, at the half.

Casey McLaughlin (22 points) drives

Casey put on the fourteen-point show in the third quarter but Pentucket had answers. Coley Viselli connected on two 3’s. Kelsi McNamara tallied two free throws and two layups. Tess Nogueira (11 points) made a layup assisted by Alex Moore and added two free throws. Pentucket was in front by a point (44-43) after three quarters.

The two teams traded free throws to start the final quarter before Pentucket took the game over with nine straight points over a four-minute segment to take home the title.

The Sachems (20-1) end the regular season with seven straight wins. Only a loss to Division 2 Notre Dame of Hingham in January blemishes their record.

And if there was ever an opponent who could toughen the Sachems up for the Division 3 MIAA Tournament it was Central Catholic. They took defending seriously and there weren’t many easy paths to the hoops for the defending D3 champs.

Tess Nogueira (11 points) gets fingers on a shot by Amanda Williams (12 points)

Pentucket thrives on pressuring after a made basket but CC was noticeably intent on not getting caught in the backcourt after the Sachems’ made baskets. The home team did have eighteen turnovers but very few of those were in the backcourt.

Central Catholic (14-5) is ranked fourth in the Division 1 North by the Boston Herald. This past week they avenged losses earlier in the season to both North Andover and Andover.

Pentucket defeated Newton South (52-45) in the first round on Sunday. Central Catholic had a win over Auburn to get to the finals.

Two things I haven’t seen/heard before at a basketball game: a Zamboni-type machine cleaning the gymnasium floor, and the National Anthem played on a harmonica.

The Pentucket partisans gave away the news that Coley had reached 1000 points when they let out a loud cheer after Coley hit the first of two free throws with 1:51 left in the game. Play was stopped and her feat was announced and her teammates congratulated her.
Pentucket boxscore

Central Catholic boxscore

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

Casey McLaughlin, Tess Nogueira, and Courtney Walsh look for a rebound

Kelsi McNamara gets into the lane

Tess Nogueira (11 points) sees an opening

Kelsi McNamara – tourney MVP

Coley Viselli (11 points) in traffic

loose ball

Casey McLaughlin shoots over Emily Dresser

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Filed under Central Catholic, Pentucket

Tagged as Amanda Williams, Casey McLaughlin, Coley Viselli, Kelsi McNamara, Tess Nogueira

February 12, 2013 · 11:20 pm

Pentucket wins 18th defeating Newburyport 60-29 in girls basketball

Kelsi McNamara (12 points) breaks clean to the basket

Coley Viselli (10 points) gets an open three

(Newburyport) Normally it’s the pressure defense that gets you when you face the Pentucket Sachems.

Not so tonight. It was an on-fire Pentucket offense.

Newburyport (10-7) had no defensive answers and were defeated, 60-29, by the defending Division 3 state champs on Tuesday night in Cape Ann League action.

The girls from West Newbury took great care of the ball (three turnovers in the first half) and made shots from everywhere.

Pentucket (18-1) had the long ball going early. Four minutes into the first quarter three different Sachems (Alex Moore, Kelsi McNamara, and Coley Viselli) clicked from downtown. That barrage of 3-point offense helped put the Clippers behind, 13-2, and there was no recovery.

The visitors closed the quarter with yet another three (Alex Moore) and two Tess Nogueira layups and the rout was on, 24-7, after one period.

Tess Nogueira (10 points) gets loose inside

It was one of those games where no matter what defense NHS coach Greg Dollas tried ran into trouble. He used a zone and Pentucket made three’s. He played man-to-man and the Sachems blew past one-on-one defenders for easy layups. It was a defensive nightmare for the Clippers, plain and simple.

In the second quarter the 3’s were key in another Pentucket run of points. With the score, 28-10, after three minutes, the Sachems put a 10-2 package in place over the next four minutes. Three-pointers by Alex and Coley as well as layups by Coley and McKenna Kilian provided the points. The Sachem advantage was extended to, 38-12, in the process, with a minute left.

The rest of the game was played mostly by reserves on both teams. Pentucket only had a 22-16 edge during the rest of the game but that was probably little consolation to anyone connected to the Newburyport program.

All of the Pentucket starters reached double figures in limited minutes: Kelsi McNamara (12), Alex Moore (11), Tess Nogueira (10), Coley Viselli (10), and McKenna Kilian (10).

Emily Pettigrew blocks the shot of Coley Viselli

Newburyport had ten girls score with the Pettigrew sisters (Mary and Emily) leading the way with four points each.

The Sachems connected on nine three-pointers. Reserve Kassidy Kennefick nailed two in the 4th quarter.

In the previous meeting between the two teams on January 4th at West Newbury, the Sachems rode Kelsi McNamara’s four 3’s to a, 61-33, win.

Newburyport, which has qualified for the state tournament, finishes its regular season on Thursday against Masconomet at Masconomet.

Pentucket will be hosting Hamilton-Wenham on the same night in what should be an emotional Seniors Day for the Sachems. Key pieces in the Pentucket success over the past few seasons (Alex Moore, Tess Nogueira, Coley Viselli, and Emily Dresser) will be honored.

Newburyport recognized its seniors tonight – Lea Tomasz, Rebecca Kell, and Casey Barlow.

Lea Tomasz

Casey Barlow

Rebecca Kell

Casey had her left hand wrapped but that didn’t stop the usual lefthander from making two free throws with her right hand.

Newburyport boxscore

Pentucket boxscore

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

Mine!

action under the basket

Aly Leahy heads for the hoop

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Filed under Newburyport, Pentucket

Tagged as Alex Moore, Casey Barlow, Coley Viselli, Kelsi McNamara, Lea Tomasz, Rebecca Kell, Tess Nogueira

February 1, 2013 · 11:30 pm

Pentucket defeats Masconomet 44-43 in overtime as Tess Nogueira gets twenty points

Tess Nogueira (20 points) drives on Claudia Marsh

(West Newbury) It is not often that you see two good teams have so much trouble shooting and taking care of the ball.

But those on hand at Pentucket High School saw a night full of misfiring and mishandles before the Sachems (15-1) eked out a, 44-43, overtime win over Masconomet (11-3) on Friday night in Cape Ann League action.

Tess Nogueira made ten free throws in fourteen attempts

No question the key to the Pentucket win was the steady play of Tess Nogueira. The 6-foot senior led all scorers with twenty points and owned the boards.

Masco had Pentucket on the ropes (40-36 with 1:11 left) in regulation. However, a Tess Nogueira offensive rebound and two Chieftain turnovers opened the door for the Sachems to get back and get overtime.

The four-minute overtime fit perfectly into the pattern established in regulation – missed opportunities galore. Masco didn’t make any shot until the final buzzer!

Kelsi McNamara missed two free throws with 2 ½ minutes remaining in OT. However, Tess Nogueira made two with 1:02 to go and Pentucket had a 42-40 lead.

Nicole Femino (14 points) about to launch a buzzer-beating three in overtime

Nicole Femino (14 points) then missed both free throws with forty-three seconds left but a Pentucket turnover gave Masco another chance with fourteen seconds left.

However, the visitors messed up the inbounds pass (Tess was in the vicinity of where the pass went) and now the Chieftains were forced to foul (Kelsi McNamara) with 7.7 seconds left. Kelsi had missed two earlier in OT but this time she connected twice to give the Sachems a four-point advantage.

Good thing, for Pentucket, that Kelsi made both of them because Nicole Femino tossed in a buzzer-beating three.

Hannah Kiernan blocks the shot of Kelsi McNamara

It is easy to harp on the poor shooting and turnovers and forget that both teams are loaded with tireless defenders. In a gym that is always tropical, the wear-and-tear of facing game-long Pentucket pressure will usually cause trouble. By my count, the Chieftains had thirty turnovers.

Another factor in the Masco loss was Claudia Marsh getting into foul trouble. Claudia picked up her third foul late in the first half and fouled out late in the game. Her strong defense on Tess Nogueira was sorely missed for many minutes. Claudia scored a basket at the buzzer to end the third quarter.

There were ten lead changes and neither team was able to get ahead by more than four points.

Meghan Collins and Kate Kitsakos connected on consecutive three’s in the fourth quarter.

Kassidy Kennefick gets into the lane

Kassidy Kennefick came off the Sachem bench in the first quarter to hit a quick long one.

One of the biggest baskets in the game was a jump shot in the lane by McKenna Kilian off a missed Kelsi McNamara shot in the last thirty seconds of regulation.

Pentucket was determined to spread the Masco man-to-man defense and get to the hoop for layups or foul shots. On this night making the layups, under heavy Masco defensive pressure, was difficult. The Sachems did get thirty-four free throws out of attacking the basket and made twenty-two of them. Tess Nogueira was 10-for-14.

This game featured two of the areas most successful coaches. John McNamara in his 7th season with Pentucket is now 149-19. Bob Romeo in his 11th season is 175-51.

John McNamara and Bob Romeo

Pentucket won the first meeting in December with Masco, 45-33.

Pentucket suffered its only loss of the season on January 26th at Hingham against Division 2 Notre Dame. A week earlier, at Pentucket, the Sachems had won.

Masconomet hosts Hamilton-Wenham on Tuesday. Pentucket will visit North Reading on the same day.

Good crowd on hand. We saw some organized Sachem support late in the game.

Pentucket Boxscore

Masconomet Boxscore

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

Hannah Kiernan blocks the shot of Tess Nogueira

Pentucket crowd

Kate Kitsakos

Kelsi McNamara lines up an overtime free throw

Coley Viselli

Kelsi McNamara looks for an opening

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Filed under Masconomet, Pentucket

Tagged as Bob Romeo, Coley Viselli, Hannah Kiernan, John McNamara, Kate Kitsakos, Kelsi McNamara, Nicole Femino, Tess Nogueira

January 17, 2013 · 11:46 pm

Pentucket holds off Greater Lowell Tech 58-57 in boys basketball

Gbah Dualu gets caught in a triple-team in the closing seconds of the game.

Gbah Dualu (22 points) defended by Ryan Kuchar (19 points)

(West Newbury) The Pentucket Sachems came out on the right end of a back-and-forth final quarter and defeated Greater Lowell Tech, 58-57, on Thursday night in non-league boys action.

There were seven lead changes in the exciting fourth quarter.

The visiting Gryphons (4-6) had two possessions in the final minute to respond to Mike Aiduk’s layup (assist to Jake Bordeianu) that put the Sachems (3-7) in front, 58-57.

On the first possession, Gbah Dualu (22 points) settled for an outside shot (which he missed) . On the second possession, the speedster was cornered by three Pentucket defenders and forced a shot that drew air as the game ended.

Pentucket started fast against the GLT man-to-man defense running ten straight points to get up 12-2 after 3 ½ minutes. Once the team from Tyngsboro shifted into an active zone things went much better for them.

The Gryphons closed to 12-9 in the first quarter and stay close (22-19) in the second quarter. The Sachem lead was 27-22 at the half.

Ryan Kuchar (19 points) had seven in the first quarter. Anthony Zeoli (13 points) had nine in the second quarter including a three from the right corner that went in off the backboard.

Jayson Colon hit consecutive long shots

Pentucket would build their lead up to 36-27 in the third after a layup and a three by junior Ryan Kuchar. However, that nine-point lead evaporated over the next 1 ½ minutes as freshman Mechach Dunn drove the lane and Jayson Colon followed with two straight 3’s.

Suddenly the Gryphons were within one (36-35) and just as suddenly Sachem coach Ed Hickey called a timeout as he surely wondered why Jayson was completely unguarded on his second 3-point attempt.

Greater Lowell finally took its first lead of the game (39-38) as Winston Smith’s converted rebound ended the scoring in the third quarter.

As I said earlier, there were seven lead changes in the last quarter. The Gryphons got up by as many as three (45-42) and the Sachems led by as many as five (56-51).

Pentucket took that five-point lead on Calvin Wiles (13 points) long one with 1:15 left in the game but in less than ten seconds Gbah Dualu answered with a three for GLT to cut the lead to two.

Mike Aiduk, here defended by Raul Navarro, would later score the winning basket for Pentucket

Mike Aiduk (10 points) tallied what turned out to be the winning basket with fifty seconds left before Gbah drove the length of the court for a layup and a free throw.

So the last forty-five seconds were played with Pentucket clinging to a one-point advantage.

Somehow the Sachems went home with the win despite two turnovers and a front end of a one-and-one miss by Ryan Kuchar.

The Gryphons had two possessions to tie or win the game. I was very surprised when Gbah settled for a jump shot on the first one. He had the speed and strength to get to the rim and had done it several times during the game.

Mike Aiduk fouls Jayson Colon with five seconds left

The second possession, with eleven seconds left, was undone by an Ed Hickey coaching decision to foul since his team had one to waste. Jayson Colon ended up dribbling away almost eight seconds before Mike Aiduk fouled him. Greater Lowell now had only 4.9 seconds to do something from half court.

Gbah took the inbounds pass and was triple-teamed by the Sachems. This excellent defense left him with no openings and no time. He had to fire quickly and the shot wasn’t close.

Greater Lowell is in the Commonwealth Athletic Conference and is in Division 3 as our the Sachems. There is only one senior (Christian Marbelt) on the team. Their next game is at North Shore/Essex on January 22nd.

The Sachems will host Manchester-Essex tomorrow (Friday).

Jake Chory looks for a pass

Pentucket made eight three’s.

Greater Lowell defeated Chelsea, 56-54, on January 15th.

A gryphon is a legendary creature with the head, talons, and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Pentucket box score

Greater Lowell box score

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

Jake Bordeianu blocks the shot of Mechach Dunn

Gbah Dualu makes a layup on the fly

Calvin Wiles (13 points) and Christian Marbelt

fast break

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Filed under Greater Lowell, Pentucket

Tagged as Anthony Zeoli, Calvin Wiles, Gbah Dualu, Jayson Colon, Mike Aiduk, Ryan Kuchar

January 3, 2013 · 12:15 am

Strong shooting and a strong finish get Pentucket past Billerica 59-39 in girls basketball

Kelsi McNamara (15 points) fires a three

McKenna Kilian (13 points) pullup jump shot

(West Newbury) Pentucket hit eight 3’s and scored the game’s last eleven points as they defeated Billerica, 59-39, in a nonleague contest on Wednesday night.

A little over a year ago Billerica, at their place, had a strong second half and routed the Sachems, 63-43.

But this time around undefeated Pentucket (6-0) made shots from long range (eight over the first three quarters) and shut out the Indians (4-1) over the last 4:25 of the game. That combo did in the Division One opponent from the Merrimack Valley League.

Pentucket took the lead for good midway through the first quarter (7-6) on a three by Kelsi McNamara (15 points). That lead would get to nine (17-8) before the Indians ran seven straight into the second quarter. Brittany Lomanno (10 points) had Billerica’s only three as the Indians moved to within two (17-15) 1 ½ minutes into the second quarter.

Pentucket would get that lead up to eight (29-21) as Coley Viselli (9 points) ended the half with a three and two free throws.

Shannon Hayes (eight points in third quarter)

Kelsi McNamara dropped three 3’s in the first 2 ½ minutes of the second half to offset a strong third quarter by junior Shannon Hayes (eight points in the quarter). Pentucket led, 46-35, after three quarters.

The final quarter started out harmlessly enough – full court drive by Kayla Leverone, two free throws by Alex Moore, and two free throws by Danielle Nickerson. 48-39 with 4:25 left.

The rest of the way? All Pentucket. McKenna Kilian (13 points) sparked the Sachems. The speedy sophomore started things with a block of Brittany Lomanno’s layup attempt. Later she added a couple of full-speed, stop-on-a-dime jumpers, two free throws, and a last-second toss off the backboard.

Alex Moore (8 points) from the corner

Pentucket had four three’s in the first quarter, one in the second, and three in the third. Normal starter Alex Moore (8 points) came off the bench late in the first quarter and promptly drained two 3’s in thirty seconds.

Billerica coach Chris Doneski surprised me plenty by going to a zone defense after Pentucket had four 3’s in the first quarter. But it actually worked in the second quarter. The third quarter? Not so much! Blame Kelsi McNamara. The sophomore found three openings around the top of the key and connected on all of them.

Back to the man-to-man went the Indians. Playing that defense and facing full-court pressure all game long may have been the culprits in the Indians disastrous last 4 ½ minutes.

Tess Nogueira (12 points) looks to go under and up

Tess Nogueira (12 points) had the best game I’ve seen her play. She faced a taller defender (Joslyn King – 6’1”) and was able to score points and get Joslyn (6 points) into foul trouble. Two memorable Tess moments were a flip-back as she went under the basket and a full-court drive in the last two minutes. On that drive I’m certain she was planning on giving the ball up but no one from Billerica stepped up to stop the senior and she kept on going.

It is hard not to be impressed with Division Three Pentucket being able to defeat a quality D1 opponent. Billerica was 17-4 last season. I saw them lose to D1 undefeated state champ Andover (with Nicole Boudreau) by a point at Andover. The Indians missed four free throws in the last 1 ½ minutes in that tough loss.

Brittany Lomanno (10 points) looks to get open

The pace of this game was certainly to the Sachems liking. They forced the ball away from Billerica’s primary ball-handlers much of the game and made passing difficult. Credit the Indians for being able to handle the pressure in the backcourt. The struggle was in the front court. Billerica had twenty-one turnovers (by my unofficial count) and missed a ton of rushed shots.

You win by twenty you probably will overlook your own team’s eighteen turnovers. Billerica’s athleticism forced that many and showed well in the one-on-one matchups when the pace was to their liking. However, Pentucket was able to speed things up most of the night and get enough openings to dominate from long range.

Billerica will next be hosting a very tough North Andover team at home on Friday night.

Pentucket will be hosting Cape Ann League opponent Newburyport also on Friday night.

ESPN Boston was in the house. So was Masco’s Bob Romeo.

The state championship banner has now found a spot on the gymnasium wall.

Pentucket boxscore

Billerica boxscore

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