Tag Archives: Nicole Viselli

January 16, 2011 · 9:01 pm

Pentucket Rebounds From Squeaker First Meeting and Routs Masco 50-33

Masco’s Brooke Stewart (#32) calls for the ball against Pentucket’s tight defense.

(West Newbury) I didn’t see Pentucket’s 61-60 squeaker over Masconomet on December 29th at Masco. In fact, I didn’t see all of this afternoon’s rematch in which Pentucket was a 50-33 winner.

Missing some of today’s girls’ game was my mistake – I believed what I read in the Newburyport Daily News. (Masco at Pentucket 3PM)

Anyhow, I missed the first quarter and only scripted the second half. I’ll rely on Mike Grenier’s game story from the Salem News for what I missed.

This is what the quarter totals looked like:
Pentucket 16 13 12 9 = 50
Masco 9 6 4 14 = 33

Masco (7-3) put up 10 points in the last 4 ½ minutes of the game but struggled mightily to make shots before that. The tall, pesky Pentucket defense was part of their problem. The rest was just an overall inability to make shots. Credit the Sachem defense but what about Masco’s 5-for-17 from the foul line with a number of those being one-and-one’s.

The Sachems (7-1) hadn’t played in nine days (loss to North Andover) and appeared to have all sorts of defensive energy stored up. Pentucket coach John McNamara had those practice days to bring his normally effective defense back to its normally effective self. What could be tougher than facing a well-rested, heavily-drilled, Pentucket pressure defense on their court?

Masco’s Brooke Stewart had 24 points during the last meeting but this time had few openings and no easy shots and ended up with thirteen points.

Brooke (6’ junior) had plenty of company everywhere she went. Tess Nogueira gave her the same denial coverage I saw her effectively put on Newburyport’s Beth Castantini. Brooke had nothing but low percentage shots available even when she actually got the ball. In this game, she didn’t have teammates to share the scoring load and loosen up the defense she faced.

I looked at Masco playing man-to-man defense for the 3 quarters I watched. I read that in the 61-60 game Pentucket struggled against the Masco zone defense. That 16-9 start in this one may have forced Masco away from zone defenses.

The Sachems have many players capable of getting to the basket against man-to-man defenses. In a game the home team won by seventeen points, you can only imagine what the separation might have been if Pentucket had shot better than 19% (7-for-36) in the second half.

A stat comparison shows Leigh McNamara, Vicky Cahill, and Sarah Higgins totally 35 points in the one-point, first game win. Versus Masco a second time, those three total eleven points and Pentucket wins by seventeen. Point? Nicole Viselli will usually score the most points but after that the Sachem scoring weapons are varied and numerous.

Every team knows that Pentucket will attack defensively and tirelessly. Court vision and accurate passes are the two solutions but the Sachems size and hustle make those two a tough task.

Masco coach Bob Romeo chats with Chelsea Nason in the second half.

Masco was clearly victimized by that defense in their fatal four-point third quarter. First seven possessions; five turnovers and three missed shots. A Brooke Stewart layup was followed by four more turnovers and two more missed shots.

Pentucket wasn’t a whole lot better with the ball either. They did get six points but they too, during this same six minute segment, had six turnovers and missed nine shots.

Maybe the sun was in their eyes. It poured in for the entire game, making one end difficult to defend on and the other one hard to see the basket or anything else. I’m guessing that the folks who scheduled an afternoon game at Pentucket failed to consider the sun factor.

Brooke Stewart defends another of the area’s top scorers, sophomore Nicole Viselli.

Two of the top scorers in the area (Brooke Stewart and Nicole Viselli) were in the game. Nicole led all scorers with seventeen points.

Junior Julia Simonetti (#14) defends Alex Moore of Pentucket

I once again met the gentleman who misunderstood what I do and embarrassed himself (and me) at Newburyport. He came over to talk to someone near me. When I got a chance I asked him if he was “scouting.” He looked a bit stunned and left.

(I collect my own stats and usually check them with newspaper coverage, take my own pictures, write my own captions and draw my own conclusions. Any mistakes I make in doing so are unintentional.)

Rugged Defense and Streaky Offense Get Pentucket Girls Past Newburyport 41-28

Sarah Higgins (31) and Molly Rowe (12) are involved in one of the numerous collisions this highly-contested game produced.

(Newburyport) On a night when their offense was anything but perfect, Pentucket continued perfect (3-0) with a, 41-28, struggle at Newburyport (1-2) on Monday night.

The Sachems in-your-face, full-court defensive approach paid its usual dividends in the early going. For the first 10 ½ minutes the visitors forced thirteen turnovers and 2-for-13 shooting from the Clippers.

Pentucket tallied the first nine points (Vanessa Cahill-4, Nicole Viselli-5) before Newburyport answered with jumpers from Haley Johnson and Sam Leahy.

Alyssa Nogueira, Haley Johnson, and Nicole Viselli wait on a first half free throw.

The Sachems followed with ten unanswered points (Leigh McNamara-1, Tess Nogueira-2, Sarah Higgins-4, Alyssa Nogueira-3) and had the breakout lead (19-4) that they seem to get against most Cape Ann League opponents in recent years.

Newburyport trailed at the half, 24-11.

For seven minutes of the third quarter the Clippers mauled the Sachems defensively. In a game of give-and-take they were dishing out the “gives.” And Pentucket was clearly rattled. The Sachems had only one point (Vanessa Cahill free throw) to show for twelve possessions with turnovers in seven of those possessions!

Sam Leahy paced the Clippers with 14 points including 12 in the second half.

But the Sachem defense during the same segment only allowed two Sam Leahy baskets. So despite the stretch of bad offense, Pentucket still led 25-15 with 1 ½ minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

This game got away from Newburyport during the next two minutes of playing time. Pentucket went on a 10-0 run and the Clippers didn’t have the scoring firepower or the time to recover.

Victoria Castiglione put in a three off the backboard and then Nicole Viselli took over. In the last minute of the 3rd she hit a three and two free throws. She started the 4th quarter by assisting on Leigh McNamara’s layup.

Later Nicole assisted on Tess Nogueira’s layup, followed with an old-fashioned three-point play, and closed with a free throw. At this juncture, with 4:20 left Pentucket was up 41-19. They didn’t score again and the Pentucket backups yielded the last nine points of the game.

Sam Leahy paced Newburyport with 14 points including 12 in the second half.

Nicole Viselli ended with 16 points and was very important in the second half after Newburyport closed to ten points.

Tess Nogueira (32) shadows Beth Castantini (10).

It was apparent early on that Pentucket was intent on denying Beth Castantini (18 points vs. Amesbury last game) the ball. Tess Nogueira and Leigh McNamara combined to hold Beth to 4 points and believe me, things got pretty rugged in the process.

The shooting by both teams was anything but pretty. Newburyport never made a three and ended up 11-for-51 (21%). Pentucket was 3-for-14 on three’s and 13-for-58 (22%) overall. The Sachems were also a scary 10-for-25 from the foul line.

I continue to think that the stat that makes Pentucket successful is turnovers. I wonder when the last time was that they lost that battle. This time Newburyport had 30 while Pentucket had 18. However, despite the turnover disparity Pentucket didn’t get as many pick-layups out of the turnovers, as they generally do. Credit the willingness of Newburyport to get back fast, after a giveaway, for limiting breakaway Sachem shots.

There was a memorable moment in this game for me. I was sitting under the basket scripting the game in the second half and occasionally taking pictures when I could. A gentleman standing nearby yells to me that I can’t scout that way. I try to ignore him because I’m trying to script the game so that I can write this game up for this blog. I’m guessing he’s a Pentucket parent mistaking me for a scout for a future opponent (Masco? Ipswich?). He did end up with the name of this blog but I didn’t end up with any sort of apology from him for his unnecessary outburst. Maybe after he reads this coverage I’ll get an apologizing email at 85peterjulie17 at gmail dot com.

(I keep my own stats, take my own pictures, and provide my own opinions. Any mistakes are unintentional.)

Pentucket Falls in State D3 Finals to Lee 56-42

Lee girls pose with D3 state championship trophy after pulling away from cold-shooting Pentucket in the last quarter.

(Worcester) Defense can only take a team so far. They must light up the scoreboard to win.

Pentucket (26-1) went incredibly cold in the final quarter and it cost them as they lost the D3 state finals to Lee, 56-42, on Saturday morning at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Lee (24-1) neutralized Pentucket’s normal defensive advantages by using the same approach (pressure defense) nearly as effectively.

It was on offense that the Wildcats won the game. Although Lee was only 15-for-47 (31.9%), and most teams don’t usually win shooting 31.9%, those numbers were good enough on this day because the Sachems were just 12-for-67 (17.9%).

However, despite all the subpar shooting, Pentucket was in contention even as late as two minutes into the last quarter. Sarah Higgins nailed a jumper to bring the Sachems to within a point, 39-38, and left the outcome very much in doubt. Unfortunately, after that, Pentucket connected on just 1-of-17 shots with three air balls in the mix.

During the fatal last six minutes, Pentucket’s ability to put together consistent offense vanished and their ability to control Lee defensively took a similar route. While the Sachems struggled to score, the Wildcats put up points in ten of their last thirteen possessions (17-4 run) and had more than enough offense to win the state title.

Both teams played fullcourt defense and the exertion required executing it and reacting to it may have taken the shooting legs out from under the Sachems late. Lee, on the other hand, had foul trouble in the first half and some of their players were benched and got some extra rest because of it. That unwanted rest may have been given Lee the extra energy they played with in the late, game-deciding minutes.

Katie Eckert (15 points) chased by Emily Lane

Pentucket started the game slowly (trailed 11-4) despite forcing six turnovers in the first three minutes. Katie Eckert (15 points) tallied Lee’s first nine points with a couple of 3’s.

Behind 13-6, the Sachems rallied for seven straight into the start of the second period to tie the score with Ashley Viselli (19 points) getting the last points on a three assisted by Erin McNamara.

Pentucket’s best show of offense was late in the second quarter when they put up ten unanswered points to take a 27-21 advantage with two minutes left in the half. Ashley Viselli scored five while sister Nicole had two free throws and Sarah Higgins hit a trey.

The Sachems had a 28-24 halftime margin.

When a team (Pentucket) has won 26 straight and leads at halftime, you can’t help but expect that they are on their way to a state title. However, the Lee girls’ basketball program has more state championships (now seven) than any other athletic program in the state. They had also reached the state semifinals in seven of the last eight years. Point? This team knows something about winning.

This year’s Lee team is a team with multiple point guards and that became important in the second half. Lee ended up with only eight turnovers in the second half and, as a result, Pentucket had less success using their pressuring defense to limit an opponent’s opportunities on offense.

The Wildcats were able either to get to the basket or the foul line during the regrettable (for Pentucket) final period. Lee was 11-for-15 on free throws in the last quarter.

Tara Dooley (#22) defends Erin McNamara (#3)

Erin McNamara (4 points) faced a very good defender in Tara Dooley (9 points) but had shot attempts that we’ve seen her connect on as recently as the Archbishop Williams game (state semifinals – 28 points). Versus Lee, Erin was 0-for-6 on 3’s and 1-for-14 overall. To see how sad she was as the game slipped away had me hoping that someone got in her ear about the fact that no one player wins or loses a team game.

What a great run the Sachems had this season! A quick look at their roster would suggest that this might not be the last time I’m writing about them in an MIAA tournament connection.

( All stats are unofficial. )