RallyNorth.net

Sachems win emotional Haverhill Tourney crown

Thursday, December, 31 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

HAVERHILL — Hearts were certainly heavy, but Pentucket had just one thought on its mind — respect the memory of Matt McCarthy by playing its best.

One day removed from the tragic death of the Sachem hockey co-captain, the girls hoopsters not only had to compete for the Greater Haverhill Christmas Classic title but face a Swampscott squad that has had their number in recent meetings.

Dealing with their emotions the best way possible, the Sachems threw a smothering blanket of defense on the Big Blue. Pressuring Swampscott into 34 turnovers and a mere 37 field goal attempts for the night, Pentucket was beyond impressive in its 54-45 victory.

"(McCarthy’s) parking spot was all decorated, and everyone getting on the bus was really somber,” explained co-captain and tourney MVP Ashley Viselli. “So the captains just said to the team, ‘All right, this happened, but he would want us to play. He’s watching us and he wants us to win, so you have to play the game for him. I think we made him really happy.”

Viselli provided her typical energy and production with a game-high 17 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals, but the night’s pleasantly surprising performer was sophomore Sarah Higgins.

After modestly portraying her role on the team as “putting players in good position for open shots and bringing some life on the court,” Higgins contributed timely scoring (nine points) and hard work on the boards (nine rebounds, six on the offensive end) to her playmaking (four assists) and staunch defense on Swampscott’s ball handlers. Her performance in the title tilt landed her on the All-Tourney team.

"Sarah can play, and she’s going to be a better player the more confidence she gets,” said Sachem head coach John McNamara. “We have a lot of interchangeable kids — at one point (last night) we had five guards out there. It gives us some different looks and Sarah’s a nice addition to that.”

After the team shook off its early game jitters, Higgins was a key cog in holding the Big Blue scoreless over 4 1/2 minutes of the first quarter, adding three points to convert a 4-2 deficit into a 12-5 lead in five minutes of play. The Sachems never trailed the rest of the night, with Higgins snagging five offensive boards and a big steal in the second half.

With the offense flowing like fine wine and the defense shutting out Swampscott with nine turnovers, Pentucket held its biggest lead at 21 (28-7) midway through the second quarter before foul trouble and impatience on the offensive end let the Big Blue creep back in.

"After probably the only stretch of the game where we dictated the tempo and style of the game, we rushed our offense in the second half,” McNamara said. “We’ve got to improve that, but it’s good to do that and still be in the game.”

"I think we got lost,” Viselli said. “We were a little bit flustered, and playing one-on-one ball was almost like panicking.”

With 2008 tourney MVP Kara Gilberg changing her role from scorer (team-high 12 points) to facilitator (nine assists), Swampscott got to within eight behind freshman Ara Talkov (eight second-half points).

The Sachems snapped back into shape, yielding just 16 points over the final 11 minutes to hold on.

"Since Mr. Mac (McNamara) took the job, he said, ‘We’re not going to be the doormat anymore’,” Viselli said. “Pentucket is known for playing hard man-to-man defense and we work twice as hard at it. If he sees us resting on defense, it’s definitely not a good sign.”