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Amanda Bickford scored a season-high 20 points, Emily Hickey added 17 and Brenna Blakslee added 11 as Salem tripped up Merrimack 71-49 in a Division 1 first-round matchup. Blakslee stymied the Tomahawks' leading scorer and Lizzy Twomey also starred on defense. It was the Blue Devils' first tourney win since 2008. Next up is top-seeded defending champ BG on Saturday.

Pinkerton avenged one of its three losses on the season with a 55-39 victory over Salem. Three Astros hit double figures but the key, said Astros' coach John Barry, was much improved defensive effort.  

Pinkerton junior Nicholas Bergstrom finished second in the 50 freestyle and fifth in the 100 freestyle as the Astros came in sixth in the boys Division 1 state meet, which was won handily by Exeter. Also, Astros' freshman Bernard Suwirjo was fourth in the 100 breaststroke and was the anchor on the 400 freestyle relay, that came in fifth and included Bergstrom and Andreas Harb, the latter of whom was fifth in the 100 backstroke.

Converting a season-high 10 3-pointers as a team, Salem exploded for 50 second-half points to come back and  defeat Londonderry, 71-62. Junior Brenna Blakslee (29 points with 5 3-pointers) and freshman Allie Sirmaian (4 3s) drove the Blue Devil offense, Ayla Rowell impressed with 14 rebounds and Emily Hickey led a strong defensive effort. Sophomore Casey Evans led the Lancers with 19 points.

Salem traveled to Dover and held a lead as large as 11 points, holding on for a well-played 67-63 win. Strong defense from sophomores Skylah Longtin and Lizzy Twomey (7 rebounds) helped the Blue Devils preserve the victory.

Nashua South ran off 31 points in the third quarter, but Salem had already built a 25-point halftime lead en route to a comfortable 77-64 victory. Juniors Emily Hickey (20 points) and Brenna Blakslee (19 points) powered the Blue Devil offense in the win.

Devon Caveney drilled seven 3-pointers in a 23-point game to power Andover to a 64-44 win over Salem in the Greater Lawrence Girls Basketball Christmas Tourney third-place game.

Andover got out to a 21-10 lead after one and started a new win streak after Central Catholic snapped its 42-game win streak on Saturday. Jessica Witten and Colleen Caveney added eight points each. Salem's Emily Hickey starred with 18 points and four treys.

NORTH ANDOVER — It wasn't the best of nights for Morgan Lumb, who had trouble finding her range.

But being a true shooter, she didn't give up.

The North Andover senior connected on a couple of huge treys in an 80-second span, as the Scarlet Knights rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 52-49 victory over Salem in a Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament semifinal. North Andover (5-0) advances to play Central Catholic in Sunday's 7:15 p.m. championship. Salem will play Andover for third at 5:30.

Emily Hickey netted 16 points and Amanda Bickford added 12 points as Salem upset Pinkerton 51-48 in the first round of the Greater Lawrence girls Christmas Tournament.

After pressure defense produced a Manchester Memorial turnover, freshman Allie Sirmaian (12 points) hit an elbow jumper with 2.4 seconds to give Salem the lead. The Blue Devils stole the ball again after the clutch hoop to preserve a 53-52 victory.