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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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Filed under Newburyport, Saugus

Tagged as Allyssa Furtado, Beth Castantini, Cady Bennett, Gabby Cogliano, Molly Rowe, Norma Waggett

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.)