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Pentucket, Central set up title game

Sunday, February, 19 By Jeff Hamrick

LAWRENCE – As the only senior in the rotation on a squad decimated by late-season injuries, Alex Borrelli must carry a bigger share of the load than was expected.

Yesterday was a perfect example of how well the Central Catholic forward has handled the burden.

Borrelli led a balanced Raider scoring effort as Central Catholic fought off fifth-ranked Archbishop Williams for a 54-50 victory in a semifinal of the IAABO Board 130 Classic. The Raiders will face Pentucket, an easy winner over Revere, in today’s 5:30 p.m. final.

The senior scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, including six in the crucial fourth quarter. The 5-foot-10 Borrelli also scored the game’s final two points in a one-and-one free-throw situation with 2.4 seconds left in a fourth quarter that saw her score seven points.

“I think this was a great win for us,” Central coach Sue Downer said. “I think that everybody is doing their job, but certainly Alex Borrelli came through huge for us. She rebounded well, and she hit some outside shots.”

Central (12-7) had lost three of its previous four games, playing without starters Casey McLaughlin (who should return for the postseason) and Caitlin Dell’Orfano (who had season-ending knee surgery) as well as key reserve Erica Hadad. But despite starting three sophomores and a freshman yesterday, the Raiders held tough in a game that featured 10 ties and eight lead changes, including four in the final period.

“This is one of the few complete games we’ve played in quite a while,” Borrelli said. “It was close the whole game. We got down a few, but we came back and beat them in a real complete game. This is a great win for us.”

The Raiders, who had 22 fewer field-goal attempts, were hurt on the boards Archbishop Williams, which has three players at least 6 feet and six 5-10 or taller. The Bishops (16-5) had eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter, but Central sophomore Amanda Williams, who had 10 points, took control in the second quarter with six of her 11 rebounds.

The third quarter was when Alex Nagri, who at 5-2 was the shortest player on either roster, shined. The sophomore, who finished with 12 points, had two assists and a 3-pointer during a 61-second stretch that gave the Raiders a 37-33 advantage with 1:50 left, their biggest lead to that point.

Courtney Walsh was the fourth Raider in double figures, scoring eight of her 11 after intermission.

“Everybody did their part,” Downer said. “I think we’re coming together at the right time and figuring things out. This was a really good win against a really good team.”

PENTUCKET BREEZES

The Division 3 Sachems, ranked 16^th by ESPN, had a much easier time with Division 1 Revere, running away with a 50-27 victory.

Pentucket (17-4) held the Patriots (10-7) to seven points or fewer in all four quarters and led by as many as 24 midway through a fourth quarter that featured a 10-0 run. The Sachems also had runs of 11-1 and 10-1 in the game.

The Sachems, however, struggled early, missing 18 of 20 3-point field-goal attempts in the first half. That allowed Revere to keep things close, trailing by one entering the second quarter.

But Pentucket cranked up its man defense, forcing 13 turnovers in the second period and another 10 in the third. The Patriots went a span of 9:27 without a field goal in one stretch.

“We live off our defense,” Pentucket coach John McNamara said. “It was a slow start to the game. We didn’t seem to have any energy, but especially in the second half we picked up our intensity. You get some steals, you get some layups and all of a sudden that rim is a little bigger.”

With only Central today left on its regular-season schedule, the Sachems have won nine straight and 14 of their past 15 and will enter the sectionals riding high.

“This was a real important win,” McNamara said. “This is a nice tournament … and we wanted to come out and have a nice showing. It was a nice win against a quality opponent. And we’ll have another quality opponent (today).”