Girls Basketball Heads to the Central Mass. Finals

Thirty-two minutes is all that remains between the girls’ basketball team and the top of the mountain.

The top-seeded Colonials adavnced to the Central Mass. Division 1 Finals with a 35-30 win over fifth-seeded Holy Name Tuesday night in the semifinals at Clark University's Kneller Athletic Center.

Shrewsbury (with a record of 19-3) will take on third-seeded Algonquin Regional Saturday evening at the Fitchburg State University Recreation Center for a crack at the Division 1 crown. The Tomahawks (with a record of 16-7) reserved their spot in the finals by knocking off No. 6 Leominster 51-41 earlier Tuesday evening.

“I purposely didn’t watch the end of the early game but Algonquin is a good team. They beat us once, and we beat them once,” said Shrewsbury Head Coach Erin Largess. “It’s going to sound, silly but it will come down to who can score more. They’re a very good defensive team and we’re hoping we can break that defense down.”

On Saturday, the Colonials will attempt to win their first district title since 2005.

With the loss, the Naps finish the campaign with a 14-8 overall record.

Leading the offensive charge for the Colonials was freshmen center Elizabeth Grip with 13 points. Jane Aulenback tossed in 6 points and Tiffani Grillo contributed 5 points for the victors. Holy Name’s Bianca Langford paced the Naps with 10 points.

“She doesn’t play like a 14-year old. She’s a special player that’s a rare find,” said Largess of Grip. “She doesn’t really get phased out there and when she does, we refocus her and she comes right back.”

With the Colonials clinging to a 3-point lead, 33-30 late in the fourth quarter Grillo was fouled and sent to the line with 26.6 seconds left with a chance to seal the win. However, the Shrewsbury senior captain hit one of two free throws to make it 34-30 and keep the Naps hopes alive.

Shrewsbury’s defense stepped up and slammed the door, shutting down the Naps and Grillo canned one more from the charity stripe with three seconds remaining to earn the win.

The Colonials opened a 9-4 lead after one quarter and expanded it to an 18-6 margin early in the second quarter but Holy Name fought back, ending the half on an 11-1 run to close within 19-17 heading into the locker room.

In a see-saw third quarter, the Colonials couldn’t create any separation against a hungry Holy Name squad who claimed its first lead of the night with 1:44 showing on the scoreboard thanks to an old fashioned three-point play. Langford’s free throw made it 25-24. Shrewsbury reclaimed the lead in the final seconds of the quarter when Aulenback knocked down a layup just before the buzzer to give Shrewsbury a 26-25 lead after three quarters.