Enfield Comes Back for Thrilling Win in Hoophall Classic

SPRINGFIELD, MA — With less than six minutes remaining in Friday night's game in the prestigious Spalding Hoophall Classic at Springfield College, things looked bleak for the unbeaten Enfield High School girls basketball team.

The Eagles trailed Braintree (MA) 48-37 and had committed an inordinate amount of turnovers, but suddenly caught fire. A three-point basket by Regina LeBlanc kicked off a 10-0 run that drew Enfield within one, then the teams wound up deadlocked at 58 at the end of regulation time.

In the extra period, the Eagles quickly fell behind by four, cut it to two, then watched in dismay as one of their top scorers, Danielle Delano, was carried off the court with an ankle injury.

Coming in cold to shoot the free throws in place of her injured teammate, Delaney Lawler sank both shots from the foul line to tie the game at 64, then a Mary Baskerville hoop put the Eagles in front to stay with 48 seconds remaining.

Free throws by Cat Fonseca and Taylor Poletti in the waning moments cemented a 68-64 victory, improving Enfield's record to 10-0.

The Eagles trailed 11-9 after one quarter, 29-19 at halftime and 42-32 heading into the final eight minutes of regulation play.

Baskerville finished with 20 points, including 16 in the second half, while Delano contributed 19. Fonseca had 10 points and LeBlanc added nine for the Eagles. Delano was selected the game's most valuable player.

Keelah Dixson took game scoring honors with 31 points for Braintree.

Photo credit: Tim Jensen