Lady Pioneers Strike Down Hamilton-Wenham

The  Friday night, putting Lynnfield to 9-9 on the season—one win away from making the state tournament.

“It’s a great win for us, we hung in there,” Lynnfield coach Pamela MacDonald said. “Our great defense down the stretch gave us nine and a chance for ten."

After a deadlock for the first few minutes, Lynnfield came on strong and scored 11 unanswered points. The Generals forced themselves back into the game but Lynnfield remained comfortably in control.

Then, Hamilton-Wenham’s defense became stifling, aggravating the Pioneers, forcing Lynnfield to turn over the ball and to throw away opportunities.

While the Generals earned their points, Lynnfield kept producing from the free throw line.

To start the second half, Lynnfield was denied two open breaks to the basket by two outstanding come from behind blocks from the Generals. A couple steals later by , the Lynnfield lead was cut to two and it forced a Lynnfield timeout.

Hamilton-Wenham  then buried a pivotal three pointer from the side as she drew the foul. She converted the four point play and gave her team the lead. Another buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter held the visitors in front. 

Lynnfield’s defensive play picked up in the fourth, as they picked the Generals pockets with precision steals, putting them on the foul line. Hamilton-Wenham was unable to covert foul shots towards the end, while Lynnfield’s guards were precise. Sophomore Jillian Fama, with a jammed finger, made several clutch free throws at the end of the fourth quarter to seal the win for the Pioneers.

Hamilton-Wenham coach Bill Burridge thought his team gave 100 percent.

“All 11 kids got to play and all 11 played very well,” Burridge said.

The young Generals fell to 3-12 on the season. The Generals' wins have come against Amesbury, Manchester-Essex and Rockport. 

MacDonald likes her chances for the next two games, even though the Pioneers will be facing teams Lynnfield has lost to already. MacDonald said she consistently tells her team to "leave it out on the floor.”

“They have played above their ability all season,” she said.