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Trailing by 12 at the half, Division 4 Whittier stormed back against Division 1 Holy Name in their matchup in Worcester. Andrea Terranova hit two free throws with eight seconds left to give Whittier (12-0) the 61-59 win.
"We just shut them down in the second half. I was so proud of the way they played," said Whittier coach Kevin Bradley. "It was a tourney atmosphere."
Samnell Vonleh had a triple double (10 points, 10 rebounds, 11 blocks). Terranova finished with 20 points while Michaela Martin and Kiana Guadalupe added 11 each. Guadalupe's trifecta, her third of the game, gave the Cats their first lead with 90 seconds left.
Dominique Ortiz added a couple big late steals and Martin forced the host Naps into an off-balance three on their final possession.

Whittier stunned Central Mass. power Holy Name 54-53. The Cats (10-0) got a huge effort from Andrea Terranova. She scored 21 points, including the go-ahead driving layup with 15 seconds left. Then her defense at the other end thwarted the Naps and gave the Cats the huge upset. "It was back and forth," said Whittier coach Kevin Bradley. "It was like two heavyweights going at it. It was two of the top teams in the state going at it." Holy Name (now 10-2), which is ranked 10th in the ESPNBoston statewide poll, is ranked No. 1 in Central Mass. Last year it lost in the Division 1 Central finals to Westford and the year before the Naps lost to Central Catholic in the D1 state final. Junior Monica Vipiano, who has already committed to Bentley, was held in check by Whittier's 6-5 Samnell Vonleh. "She had 14 blocks. She was unbelievable. She was just a force," said Bradley. Vonleh, who also had 11 rebounds, owned the lane and Terranova did a little bit of everything. "Andrea supplied defense, ballhandling, she just did a great job on both ends," said Bradley. "She also hit a big 3 before the half. She rose to the occasion." This is getting old hat for Whittier, which also opened eyes around the state with a big win over North Andover. The Knights Friday night showed how good they are by toppling previously unbeaten Andover.

Five days, five games and four straight wins for Central Catholic, capping the rugged stretch with a 16-2 blowout of a Holy Name team that had won its last six contests. The Raiders pounded out 22 hits, four off the bat of ninth hitter Nick Gorski along with three RBIs. Dan Shields and Alex Valenti (two hits and four RBIs apiece) also contributed to the onslaught.

Brendon Bretton was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, scored a run and was the winning pitcher as Haverhill opened its season by downing Holy Name 11-8.

 Central Catholic baseball coach Marc Pelletier didn't know what to expect out of his team.

The pain from the Wednesday death of their friend, Central softball player Rebecca Solomon, is still overwhelming.