Sports
TMHS Girls Basketball Team Is Going To The State Tournament
Red-hot Redmen girls are in based on the Sullivan rule.
Please don't pinch any of the members of the this week.
None of them wants to wake up from a month-long run of success that could only be conjured up in a dream.
After starting their season by losing 11 out of their first 12 games, the Redmen have gone on a tear, winning six out of their last eight games to improve their record to 7-13, which, unthinkably, is good enough to qualify Tewksbury for the Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association's state tournament, which begins next week.
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found out Sunday that, based on the "Sullivan Rule," a convoluted set of requirements that attempts to level the playing field for schools like Tewksbury that play in leagues dominated by schools that compete in higher divisions, the TMHS girls have already qualified for state tournament play.
And while many consider the Sullivan Rule to be the easy way in to the MIAA tournament, nothing the Redmen have done over the past four weeks indicates that they are anything less than worthy of post-season play. All Tewksbury did to confirm that notion this weekend was to knock off defending MIAA Division 2 North Sectional champion Melrose, 45-42 on Sunday before giving one of this year's top Division 2 teams, Gloucester, all it could handle in the championship game of the Spartan Classic at St. Mary's High School in Lynn on Monday.
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Sure, the Redmen, who led by three at the end of one period and trailed by only two with 1:08 to go in the first half, eventually lost the tournament championship game by 10, 65-55. But considering that Gloucester sits alone atop the Northeastearn Conference South Division standings with a 16-4 record, Bradley and his TMHS girls have to be feeling good about the way they've been playing lately.
"We just played the No. 4 ranked team in Division 2 in the state, and we fought 'em," said Bradley, shaking his head in disbelief. "We're playing some good basketball right now.
"A lot of people thought I was crazy putting this team in a tournament like this, but this is where we want to be," he added. "These are the types of teams you want to be playing at this time of year. And we showed we belong."
The youthful Redmen, who start two freshmen and a sophomore and get significant contributions from only two seniors, overcame an 11-point fourth quarter deficit against Melrose on Sunday. They outscored the Red Raiders 21-7 over the game's final eight minutes to take a three-point victory and qualify for the Spartan Classic finals against Gloucester on Monday.
led Tewksbury with 12 points on Sunday while seniors Kim Fairweather and Michelle Gavin scored eight points each. Gavin, who made the all-tournament team, hit four clutch free throws in the final two minutes of the game to help TMHS pull out the win.
On Monday, sophomore forward Nicole Chaet scored 14 of her team-high 17 points in the first half as the Redmen threw a big scare into the Fishermen before Gloucester's super senior Hannah Cain took control of the game in the second half. Cain, who scored her 1,000th career point in the second quarter, tossed in 32 points, including 10 in the final five minutes of the game, to hold off another TMHS comeback effort.
"She (Cain) was great," Bradley said. "We couldn't come up with an answer for her. She's really tough to defend."
Still, the Redmen were within six points with 5:28 to play, and that alone had Bradley smiling in wonderment after the game was over.
"I saw (Andover High coach) Jim Tildsley in the gym tonight, and I was thinking back to the third game of this season, when we lost to Andover by 40," Bradley said. "We've come a long way since then, that's for sure. It's two different teams, really.
"After the Andover game I was going 'Oh, man, we're in for a long season,'" Bradley added. "But we've got hot toward the end of the season. We've made progress. For us to have seven wins right now... These girls have done all right."
Sophomore center Kelli Sugrue had another strong game against Gloucester netting 11 points, and freshman center Chelsee Porcaro added seven points and at least as many rebounds. Sara Semenza tossed in six points while Katie Doherty and Sherri Liggiero had five each.
Tewksbury has one more regular season game to play before the state tournament starts. The Redmen visit Chelmsford Wednesday at 7:00, hoping to clinch second place in the Merrimack Valley Conference small school division with a win.
