RallyNorth.net

Sat, Mar 09, 2019 02:00 PM @ Pentucket

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Tewksbury	7	20	6	12	45
Pentucket	17	14	11	14	56

Garden-bound: Sachems punch ticket for 7th state semifinal in 13 years

Saturday, March, 09 By Mac Cerullo

LOWELL — Maddi Doyle clutched the Division 2 North championship trophy as she embraced friends and family along the front of the Tsongas Center stands.

She and her teammates had been working all year to get back to this point, and with a second straight trip to the state semifinals in the bag, she got the news she’d been waiting to hear.

No snow in the forecast.

“I don’t care if there is snow,” she shouted triumphantly. “I’m walking to the Garden this year!”

Last year Pentucket won the Division 2 North title but was robbed of a chance at playing in the TD Garden by Mother Nature. A late-season snowstorm forced the game’s postponement and relocation to Woburn High School, and ever since the Sachems have been hellbent at getting another shot.

Saturday afternoon, Pentucket made its dream a reality, beating an excellent Tewksbury team, 56-45, to punch its ticket to the Garden.

“Every year is special, but it’s so special to play there,” said Pentucket coach John McNamara. “But after last year when we got snowed out and we had to play at Woburn High — and nothing against Woburn High — I think this group was a little motivated because they wanted to get back there and actually play.”

To make that happen, Pentucket first had to contend with a Tewksbury team that had rolled through the tough Merrimack Valley Conference Small Division. The Redmen boasted high-end veteran talent, most notably MVC Small Co-MVPs Erin and Lizzie Gallella and three-time All-MVC center Alli Wild.

As it has all season, Pentucket answered with its own impressive depth and ability to grind teams down. The Sachems opened the game on a 12-2 run to pull in front early, and from the opening tip Pentucket did its best to lock down Wild, holding the athletic center scoreless and forcing Tewksbury (19-4) to get its offense elsewhere.

“It’s a credit to Liv Cross, Arielle Cleveland and Jelly Hurley, who were covering her. We were switching people on and off her, trying to take away what she likes to do,” said McNamara, who has guided the Sachems to an amazing seven state semifinal berths in his 13 years. “Unfortunately they hit a bunch of threes to keep themselves in the game — good for them but not for us — but we had to give up something to take something away.”

Pentucket went into halftime leading 31-27, but steadily pulled away in the second half largely due to a relentless barrage of foul shots. The Sachems got into the bonus early in the second half, and by the time all was said and done, the team knocked down 24 of a whopping 37 attempts.

Hurley led the Sachems with 17 points, Angelina Yacubacci had 12 points, Jess Galvin had 11 and Doyle had 10. Tewksbury was led by Lizzie Gallella with 15 points and Haley Mignon had 10.

State Semis

Who: Pentucket (22-3) vs. Pembroke 20-4)

Where: TD Garden

Day: TBA but likely Wednesday

 

 

Sachems coach beats his old high school

For Pentucket coach John McNamara, facing Tewksbury in the Division 2 North Final was a little bit awkward. As a 1980 graduate of Tewksbury High, McNamara still has family living in town and is familiar with Tewksbury coach Mark Bradley and many parents associated with the program.

“I know Mark, I know a couple of the parents of the girls on the other team, so it was a little uncomfortable to play Tewksbury but I’m glad we came out on top so I can at least have bragging rights,” McNamara said, adding that he has fond memories of his high school days playing at Tewksbury.

They should be fond, he averaged 23 points a game as a senior.

The matchup had a little extra juice for Pentucket’s players too, particularly the seniors. Maddi Doyle said after the game that they used to play Tewksbury frequently during their travel youth basketball days, and in their eighth grade championship game, they faced Tewksbury and lost.

“Me, Liv and Jess, we’re like, ‘There’s no way we’re going to lose to Tewksbury in high school,’” Doyle said. “So we just brought some grit and defensive pressure and shut them down.”

Pentucket 56, Tewksbury 45

Division 2 North Finals

TEWKSBURY (45): E. Gallella 2-3-9, L. Gallella 6-2-15, Wild 0-0-0, Tibbetts 0-0-0, Mignon 4-0-10, Cafferty 2-0-6, Deroche 0-0-0, Polimeno 1-2-5. Totals: 15-7-45

PENTUCKET (56): Galvin 3-3-11, Doyle 2-5-10, Yacubacci 3-6-12, Hurley 5-6-17, Cross 0-2-2, Cleveland 1-1-3, Wyner 0-0-0, Currie 0-1-1, Snow 0-0-0. Totals: 14-24-56

3-pointers: PENT — Galvin 2, Doyle, Hurley; TEWKS — E. Gallella 2, Cafferty 2, L. Gallella, Polimeno

Tewksbury (19-4):      7 20  6 12 — 45

Pentucket (22-3):     17 14 11 14 — 56