Magicians Fall In Gloucester

The #5 ranked Gloucester Fisherman used their supreme athleticism to out-duel the Magicians by a score of 63-54 at Gloucester High School on Tuesday night. With the loss, Marblehead's season is finished, while Gloucester will play the winner of Salem vs. Danvers.

The Fisherman started the game off hot, relying on the play of their top guards Hannah Cain, Heather Cain and Audrey Knowlton. Junior Lyndsey Cohen chipped in eight points in the first for the Magicians, who struggled to feed their inside presence Carly McIver with strong enough position to convert. After one quarter Gloucester led 20-12.

The second quarter held much of the same for Marblehead, as they were outdone on the boards and fell victim to a losing turnover battle. Gloucester's great ball movement proved hard to keep pace with, creating a number of wide open low-post layup attempts.

The Magicians did finish the half strong, pulling to with eight points, 35-27 at the break.

Captain Olivia Raisner took charge of her squad at halftime, rallying the team's spirit. "[Raisner] basically said, 'we played horribly out that half and we're still only down 8,'" said Coach Skip Likins. "That's exactly what they did...they responded."

The Magicians rattled off an 11-0 run to begin the second half, taking their first lead since the opening quarter at 36-35.

The streak was fueled by a great showing from junior Katherine DiGiammarino, who notched six points in the frame and made some key defensive stops in the front court.

With just under three minutes to play in the quarter Gloucester began running a full-court press defensive scheme that seemed to confuse the Headers, forcing turnovers and leading to easy Fisherman buckets.

With eight minutes to play in regulation, Gloucester was ahead 45-42. A short run to open the fourth gave Gloucester a seven point lead that they would never surrender.

Marblehead showed flashes of life as the quarter wore on, but they were unable to cut the lead to fewer than five points. DiGiammarino fouled out with just over a minute to play, and Gloucester's Knowlton buried her free throws to seal the victory.

After the game, Coach Likins was satisfied with his team's performance. "For our team to play that closely with their team, I couldn't be more pleased," he said.

Playing in their first post-season game in over five years was quite an accomplishment for the Magicians."This year we really turned the program around, and I credit our seniors who took some hard knocks the last four years to get here," he said. "Hopefully this is just a stepping stone and we can continue next year with the girls that are coming back."

Salem (#13) travels to Danvers (#4) on Wednesday night to decide Gloucester's next opponent. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 p.m.