Sports
In Final Home Game of Season, CCHS Girls' Basketball Falls 60-53 to Tyngsborough
Six Seniors Celebrated on Senior Night.
Six seniors on Concord-Carlisle High School’s girls’ basketball team played their final home game Friday night during senior night, where the Patriots lost 60-53 to Tyngsborough High School.
Each of the six senior girls took a photograph with their parents after being announced and presented a bouquet of flowers.
“I thought the ceremony was very nice,” said CCHS coach Joseph Bodenrader. “It was nice to have all the parents out. We have a lot of seniors this year. We have six seniors. Three of them are injured but, there were a lot of kids that contributed to the program, so it was good to celebrate it today.”
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When play started, the first and second quarters were a little messy for both teams.
Concord-Carlisle (5-14) started on an iffy note, making clumsy mistakes, fumbling the ball off their sneakers and overthrowing passes.
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But sophomore Halle Burns (game-high 18 points) was putting down points. She netted back-to-back baskets halfway through the first quarter and contributed six of Concord-Carlisle’s 10 first quarter points.
“(Burns) got a lot of rebounds,” Bodenrader said. “She was very physical and strong underneath. She was definitely a strong presence for us from forward position.”
The game was tied after the first quarter.
Play in the second began messy as well, with many of Concord-Carlisle’s shots off target. But the Patriots made it a two-point game when sophomore Andrea O’Brien (seven points) bolted down court for a layup with 1:42 remaining. Junior Jessie Castelline (12 points) tied it up at 1:15, and with 20 seconds remaining she put the Patriots ahead by a basket at 25-23 heading into halftime
The third and fourth quarters were neck-and-neck races with many fouls.
Burns added more points to Concord-Carlisle’s total in the beginning of the third, making two free throws after a foul from Tiger Amanda Hogan (team-high 16 points). O’Brien added another layup, putting the Patriots ahead, 29-23.
“Keep your composure and be patient,” Bodenrader told his players from the line with four minutes remaining in the third.
Patriots junior Lily Gordon sank a 3-pointer at the 3-minute marker, increasing C-C’s lead to 35-29. But then at 1:42, Tyngsborough’s Lauren Iadarola (12 points) tied the game 35-35. Then Castelline made a basket and grabbed a foul, sinking her shot.
But the Patriots were only up by one at the end of the third, 39-38.
At 7:21 of the fourth, Castelline was keeping the Patriots’ momentum when she scored a 3 from senior captain Jamie Potter’s assist.
The Tigers tied the game at 43-43 with 5:48 left, but Burns added three points for the Patriots with a basket and a foul shot. The Tigers once again came back to tie, 48-48, with 3:27 remaining.
The whistles really started blowing during the game’s final stretch, and it seemed O’Brien was victimized on a number of occasions.
She was fouled at 2:13 (1-of-2) and 1:36 (0-of-2) when the Tigers moved ahead 55-52. Burns was fouled at 1:06 and made one basket. O’Brien was fouled again with 56.2 left, by Hogan, and she missed both. The Tigers were now up by three, at 56-53.
The Tigers increased their lead to 58-53 when they scored two after being fouled by O’Brien. Tiger Helena Hamilton then fouled O’Brien -- her fourth time being fouled in two minutes -- but again she didn’t score.
With 16 seconds left, O’Brien then fouled Hamilton who knocked in one. With 7.2 seconds remaining, the Tigers made another foul shot and with only seconds left with the ball the Patriots weren’t able to score.
“Too many turnovers, too many missed layups and too many missed foul shots,” said Bodenrader, explaining the Patriots’ reason for losing. “We’ve got one more game against Wayland and we’re going to try and end this season on a winning note and that’ll be it.
“We’ve got six seniors leaving,” coach continued. “But we’ve got a lot of young kids that have gotten a lot of playing time this year and we certainly have a lot to build on going into next season.”
Concord-Carlisle plays in their final game of the 2010-2011 season at Wayland High School on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
