Shrewsbury's Title Run Ends

The top-seeded girls’ basketball team watched its chance at a district title slip away Saturday night.  

The Colonials’ season came to a disappointing end in the Central Mass. Division 1 title game, falling 46-36 to third-seeded Algonquin Regional at the Fitchburg State University Recreation Center.

“It was really tough for us to get a run going tonight. We missed a few layups, I guess you’d say, early, and I think that could have changed the momentum,” said Shrewsbury head coach Erin Largess after the loss. “Algonquin hit every open shot so they capitalized on every opportunity they could so that’s how it goes.”  

Shrewsbury finishes the season with a 19-4 record while the Tomahawks improve to 18-5 and battle Amherst Tuesday night in the Division 1 State Semifinals at Worcester’s DCU Center.

Saturday’s match up was the third time the two teams have faced each other this winter. Shrewsbury won the opener just before Christmas and the Tomahawks responded with a win at the end of January.

Shrewsbury was paced by Elizabeth Grip’s 13 points. Jane Aulenback chipped in with 9 points and Danielle Deraney scored 6 in a losing effort. Algonquin’s Emily Bourke led the way for the Tomahawks with 11 points.

As for Saturday night’s contest, the two squads were deadlocked at 7 after one quarter of play however the Tomahawks added some key offense to their stifling defense in the second quarter. Algonquin outscored Shrewsbury 15-6 to take a 22-13 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, Shrewsbury couldn’t cut into the deficit as Algonquin kept the pressure on. The Tomahawks expanded the lead to double-digits early in the quarter and pushed it to 14 points following back to back buckets by Dahlstrom with 4 minutes left. Dahlstrom’s hoops made it 31-17.

Algonquin kept it a double-figure lead heading into the fourth quarter enjoying a 35-22 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Colonials cut the Algonquin lead under 10 points on three different occasions but failed to trim it any smaller than 8 points. O’Connell knocked down a trio of key free throws over the final 2 minutes to preserve the win and the title.

“They (Algonquin) showed up tonight and put together another game plan that was good enough to beat us,” Largess said. “The whole second quarter was tough to dig ourselves out of.”

The loss marks the end of the high school playing career for four Shrewsbury players. Tiffani Grillo, Rachel Pineda, Katie Forts and Patrice Ermilio all donned the Colonials uniform for the last time Saturday night.