Brutal Press And Pelletier's 31 Powers Crusaders Over North Reading

When it came to Bishop Fenwick girls’ basketball this year, most thoughts went to senior guard Amy Pelletier’s regular monster performances, but it would take a little more than that for the Crusaders to get their 66-47 Division 3 North preliminary round victory over the North Reading Hornets at Salem State University on Tuesday night.

For most of the first half, it appeared that the game was in either team’s hands, as Bishop Fenwick could only build a four point lead after two quarters, due in large part to Pelletier’s 18 first half points.

But while Pelletier continued her offensive assault in the second half, the Crusaders intensified their backcourt pressure they had begun late in the second quarter, creating a series of problems for the Hornets in terms of lost points from turnovers as well as a disrupted frame of mind heading down the court.

“We did a good job breaking the press, it was just when we got into transition we didn’t know where to go,” said North Reading head coach Karla Sullivan. “We talked a lot at halftime about calming down once we got it past halfcourt, we got going so fast that we were out of control and committing turnovers once we got the ball past halfcourt.”

While the Hornets eventually figured out the Crusaders defensive strategy, going 10-for-12 from the line in the fourth, a 19-3 run in the third proved to be too much for North Reading to overcome.

Pelletier continued her torrid pace in the second half, ending up with a game-high 31 points on the night, but ultimately her biggest contribution probably came from her ability to amplify the contributions of her teammates.

“She really knows how to use her teammates,” said Bishop Fenwick head coach Tim Harrington on his star guard, who will be attending Stonehill College next year. “If she’s not open, she’s perfectly happy to share the ball, she just got open a lot tonight and hit the shots.”

On the other side of the ball, junior guard Lauren Hebert suffered what appeared to be a minor injury early in the second half, but she walked it off and ended with 17 points on the evening to tie her with senior center Kirsten Morrison’s total to lead the Hornets on the night.

Hebert and Morrison helped carry North Reading throughout the season, but Sullivan admits that her girls gave their best effort but were just outmatched, comparable to their recent stretch of tough losses against larger schools in the Cape Ann League during the past month.

“We knew that Bishop Fenwick would be a tough team coming in, and if we made mistakes this is what would happen,” said Sullivan. “I give it to the girls though; they kept on hanging in and didn’t go away. They worked hard and didn’t give up right until the end.”

Bishop Fenwick will hope to take the good mojo from their win with them this Friday as they travel to face the top seeded Spartans of Stoneham High School.