Magic Quiet Sonics; Pacers Tune Out Jazz

(Editor's note: The following information was provided by the administrators and coaches of the Tewksbury Girls Basketball League.)

SENIOR DIVISION

MAGIC 35 SONICS 24

The Magic beat the Sonics today in senior league play, securing 1^st place for the season and a first round bye in the playoffs. The Magic were a little short-handed but managed to muster enough energy and good team play to jump out to an early lead and hold off the Sonics. The team defense was impressive for the Magic as all players contributed on that side of the ball. On offense the team was led by Nichole Hamel (10pts) and Meaghan Blaisdell (9pts). The team also got good offensive play and big rebounds by Olivia Gallella (5pts) and Michelle Creedon (7pts). As always Eva Barinelli (4pts) was buzzing all over the court and the Magic got feisty defense from Samantha Teague and good boxing out and a timely steal from Rachel Eatherton.

The Sonics were in the game against the Magic but the Magic pulled away in the last quarter with a few well played fast breaks. Shannon Smith (7points) and Toni Joy (6points) led the way for the Sonics offense. Erica Dirk knocked down 4points from the floor and one from the free throw line. Marissa Conlin scored 4points and Mariah Wentzell was good for 2points.The Sonics D played well doing a good job keeping the Magic out of the paint. Alexis Chaet did a great job of battling under the boards against a tall Magic team. Kathleen Silk was a terror causing many turnovers. Their strong D earned them both defensive players of the game. Kenzie Wyatt did a great job of attacking the ball on the perimeter of the key. Monica Aronson did a great job of getting in the face of the Magic offense. Good luck next week in the play offs Magic and Sonics!!!

 PACERS 36 JAZZ 21
 The Pacers played one of their best games of the years coming away with a hard earned victory against the talented Jazz. Leading the charge was Amanda Brown with 10 points followed by Mackenze Pierce with 8 points, Rachel Kelleher & Danielle Newhall who had great all around games chipped in with with 6 points each while Lindsey Cossar who had her outside game working helped out with 4 points Haley Acconcia who had another strong game in the paint came away with 2 pts to round out the scoring. Although they didn't score Colleen Kelly, Jenn Maddaleni, Carlye Slavin & Paige Walker had great all around games with some good passing and stella defense when it counted the most.

The Jazz fought hard to overcome an early first quarter deficit against the Pacers, but just couldn‘t make enough shots. Playing a lot of minutes for the Jazz were Abby Wise, Sam Lopolite, Dimple Ghandi and Rebbecca Keough. Shannon Semenza and Alysa Defruscia paced the offense for the Jazz.

JUNIOR DIVISION

COMETS 20 ROCKERS 8

The Comets were able to come back from a tough loss the prior week with a win against the well coached and talented Rockers. It was a defensive battle from the get go as our offense was a little rocky and we just couldn't shake the Rockers defenders. All of the girls stepped up and contributed 100% today! Leading the offense was Emily Langone netting 6points, followed by Allison Couillard and Erin Gallella both 4points each. Rounding out the scoring was Lizzie Gallella, Felicia Ragucci and Michaela Svendsen all with 2points each. Our defense was at its best as Bridget Burgoyne, Rachel Conway and Madison Bugley were all successful at keeping the Rockers from scoring. They had quick feet, shadowing any Rocker player that was in their space and grabbed key loose balls when called on! Erin and Lizzie Gallella both proved to be tough as nails at the top of the key, jabbing at the ball any chance they could for a steal! Felicia, Emily and Michaela all posted strong under the net, grabbing any rebound that came their way. Before leaving us at half time, Allison gave all she had on both ends of the court with her continued cat like moves! Defensive Players of the game: The Comets Team!

 STORM 9 STARZZ 4

Team Storm’s season long defensive pressure was once again on display in this one as Team Starzz was never able to develop any offensive rhythm. Jessica Cacciolla was her usual spectacular self not because of herpoints, but rather her determination to do everything necessary to help her team win. Stephanie Lemus has been the Storms most improved player this season. Stephanie Graffeo scored an early foul shot to get things started offensively. Devyn Veits, Christine Santos, and Stefanie Cunningham continued their season long assault on the boards. Brigh Cote, Megan Graczyk and Ashley Turri continued to play consistent two-way basketball.

MYSTICS 22 SPARKS 6

The Mighty Mystics finished out the regular season with a very strong win against a tough Sparks team. The Mystics wouldn't let up pressure until the final buzzer sounded. Our goal was to finish out the regular season with our strongest performace of the year, and we did! The Mystics came out after the first quarter with an 8-0 advantage and never looked back. They applied great pressure throughout the whole game at both ends of the floor. Defensive player of the game has to once again go to the whole team because they worked so well as a unit and they continuously have each others back. We are all excited and focused on the Tournament now and we look forward to playing the very talented and very skilled Lynx team next week. They stand between us and our goal and it will take our best game of the year to beat them.

MONARCHS 16 LYNX 12

The first meeting of these two teams was a battle to the finish where the Lynx won by 2points. In the season rematch with playoff implications on the line the Monarchs came to the gym expecting the Lynx to test their limits on the court for a full 24 minutes and that is exactly what they got. Helen Johnson was patient handling the ball at half court and setting up the offense for the Monarchs. Sidney Quinn and Haley Mignon got the Monarchs out to a 6-2 lead in the first period as they pushed a fast transition game off of several steals. Giovanna Frisella locked down the middle of the key and stifled the Lynx attack with help from Justine Forti. In the second period Sarah Ciampa and Emily Amaral played their best basketball of the season at both ends of the court with multiple steals, solid passing, dribbling, and 4points to push the Monarchs to a 10-6 lead at the half. Erin Briley was given the hardest job on the court as she pressured the super tall Lynx center and fought for rebounds and position in the middle. Amber Cullinan and Emma Crawson played solid defense and gathered up key rebounds which allowed the Monarchs to control the pace of play when needed. Sarah, Sidney, and Haley each scored another basket in the second half to push the Monarchs to 16points with one minute left. For the last sixty seconds the Lynx brought a fierce attack including a couple foul shots but the Monarchs held on for the win with a final score of 16-12.

INTERMEDIATE DIVISION

COUGARS 12 WAVES 11

After scoring a season high inpoints the week before, the Cougars played a low scoring defensive battle against a very tough Waves team. The Cougars found themselves trailing going into the 4th quarter by a score of 4-9 and they just cranked it up and exploded for 8 points They played great tough as nails defense and only gave up a single basket in the 4th and managed to get the 1 point win. This was a huge win for us and it shows what this team is made of, just pure toughness! Now we look to next week and a rematch against the Huskies in the first round of the Tourney. We will continue to practice hard this week and we will be ready for them!!

The Waves lost a close, hard fought game to the Cougars in the final week of the regular season. The final score was 12-11. Scoring for the Waves was Erika Whynot with 4points, Melissa Markwarth, Kirsten Dick, and Amanda Ford with 2points each, and Colleen MacNeil with 1 point. Defensive player of the game is Tayla LeGrand. Also playing well in defeat were Amy Glover, Alicia Moore, Elizabeth Markwarth, Lauren Riccardi, and Christina Noyes.

HUSKIES 24 WILDCATS 21

 The Huskies hung on for a tough win against a very good Wildcats Team. The Huskies showed alot of heart playing with only 7 players. Offensively the Huskies were led by high scorer Karalyn Gallella and Andrea DeFina. Lisa DeVito, Stephanie Mchatton, Kayla Marshall, Sara Letourneau and Nicole Lucia played tough defense all game against a very aggressive Wildcats team. Lisa DeVito was named defensive player of the game. The win helped the Huskies finish in 2nd place for the year. Great job girls!

JAYHAWKS CARDINALS

The Jayhawks played a classy and talented Cardinals team in week 12, and were able to come out with a win to finish the season undefeated. More importantly than their record, the girls played all season as a cohesive team, and supported each other by helping each other learn the game and looking for the assist and not always the score. As a coach, I couldn't be prouder of the Jayhawks - especially the 6 veterans who helped set the tone for the year. This was true again on Saturday, as the team worked hard to ensure all our players scored this year. The day belonged to the Emilys as Emily Saunders, with a whole gym cheering for her, sunk her first twopoints of the season with a beautiful lay-up - Way to go Emily - always believe in yourself!! Emily Burns played her best game of the season, with more steals and rebounds than could be counted. But as usual, it was a team effort and the scoring was shared by many - Emily Saunders (2 pts), Sam Powers (2 pts), Nicole Petherbridge (3 pts), Haley Pozzuto (4 pts), and high scorer Ari Nicosia (6 pts). Meg Braciska, Chelsey Pellegrino, Haley Marchant, Andrea Doran, and Emily Burns had many, many assists. Way to go Jayhawks! The Jayhawks thank the Cardinals for a great game and wish them the best of luck in the March Madness tournament.