Freshman guard Talia Riccioli struck for 16 points to pace the Everett High girls basketball team to a 45-38 victory over Malden Friday evening. Talia’s biggest bucket of the night was a three pointer in the fourth quarter to open up a six point Everett lead that finally gave the Lady Crimson Tide some breathing room in a contest in which they led the entire game, but were never quite able to pull away. Everett led 11-10 at the end of the first period, 18-16 at the half, and 30-26 after three frames.
Riccioli was not the only heroine for the Lady Crimson Tide, however. The trio of Kwanecha Aldridge, Yemi Okhihan, and Daphnica Nazaire applied intense defensive pressure on Malden over the final eight minutes to help turn the tide decisively in Everett’s favor. The threesome accounted for 16 steals, most in the final frame, that resulted in scoring opportunities for Everett.
The Lady Crimson Tide also utilized some fine free throw shooting down the stretch to keep Malden at bay. Everett sank 10 free throws in the fourth quarter. Okhihan was 4-for-6 and teammates Riccioli, Nazaire, and Savannah Spinney hit two apiece from the charity stripe when the game was on the line. Everett finished with 18-of-32 shooting from the line on the night.
“It was nice to get a win and we did a lot of things well,” said EHS head coach Tammy Turner. “But we still committed way too many turnovers.”
In addition to Riccioli’s 16 points, other point scorers for Everett were Nazaire with eight points, Okhihan with five, Aldridge and Spinney with four each, and the foursome of Janyne Sierra, Mariana Miranda, Talia Mirra, and Jess Wade with two points each.
Last Tuesday the Lady Crimson Tide played at Cambridge and came up on the short end of a 54-30 decision. A slow start (Everett trailed 15-3 after one period and 30-11 at the half) from which Everett never recovered proved fatal against the Lady Cantabs.
A bright spot for Everett was the defensive play of Nazaire, who was assigned to guard Cambridge’s leading scorer, a six-foot tall girl who can dunk the ball and is headed for a Division 1 school. “Daphnica dia great job on their top player,” said Turner. “The girl scored only 14 points, well below her average, of which six came on fast breaks.”
Spinney led Everett in the scoring column with nine points, followed by Okhihan with eight, Miranda with five, Wade with four, Nazaire with two, and Riccioli with one.
Turner and her crew will play at Somerville Friday and trek to Medford Tuesday.
Ralon wins 1000 dash for girls track
Although the Everett High girls and boys track teams came out on the short end of their meet with Cambridge last week, many members of the team turned in fine individual performances.
Wendy Ralon led the list for the Lady Crimson Tide, capturing the 1000 meter run in a time of 3:57.8, edging her closest Cambridge rival by 2.7 seconds.
Everett’s Elsbeth Colson took second in the 55 meter hurdles with a clocking of 8.8 seconds. Teammate Lena Nguyen earned a point for the Everett side of the scoresheet in that event with a third place finish in 9.3.
Two Everett competitors also placed in the high jump. Corrina Reason took second with her leap of 4-4 and Kathy Pham grabbed third with a jump of 4-0.
Other point scorers for the Lady Crimson Tide were: Djenny Lorjuste with a third in the 55 meter dash in 6.7; Sharyn Gladstone with a third in the 300 dash in 48.8, which was just 0.3 off the first place Cambridge girl; Varina Pineda-Ramirez with a second place in the shotput with a throw of 23-19; and Ashley Mulligan-Gregorio with a third in the mile.
On the boys’ side, a number of Crimson Tide competitors came through with second place finishes to earn three points for the Everett cause: Steven Garrity in the hurdles in 7.9; Henry Maldonado with a 300 meter dash of 39.1; Carlos Duran in the 600 dash with a clocking of 1:28.6; Roberto Aravelo with a 1000 meter time of 2:48.1; Brendan Jefferson with a shotput toss of 37-9; and Hieu Vo Tran with a high jump of 5-8.
Third place efforts that scored one point for Everett came from Leandro Almeida in the 1000 in 3:09; Felipe Andrade in the 300 in 39.7; Willie Deris in the 55 dash in 5.9; and Anthony Negron in the hurdles in 8.3.
“Overall, the teams put forth a solid effort against Cambridge,” said EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “We scored more points in certain events than I had anticipated. Specifically, Wendy Ralon getting a first place for us in the 1000 yard run and Ashley Mulligan-DeGregorio in the mile in which she set a personal best time. Carlos Duran and Edwin Gonzales had personal bests in their respective 600 yard run. They really have been pushing one another all season both at practice and at the meets.
“Hieu Vo-Tran continues to score for our team in the high jump and his goal this season is to qualify for the divisional state meet, for which he is only two inches away from accomplishing,” continued Irish. ” Brendan Jefferson continues to score for our team in the shot put as well. Elsbeth Colson and Steven Garrity continue to lead our hurdle group. Henry Maldonado and Felipe also placed well in their 300 meter events.”
Irish and her crew were set to compete at Somerville this evening (Wednesday) at 6:30.
Injuries bedeviling EHS boys hockey team
Injuries are playing a key factor for the Everett High boys hockey team as they skate into the halfway mark of their season. Two of coach Alex Naumann’s starting defensemen, seniors Reardan Sweeney and Derek Bankus, have been out of the lineup, Reardan with a concussion and Bankus with an ankle injury, forcing Naumann to move around his troops to make up for their absence.
“We’re struggling a bit,” said Naumann, whose squad stands at 2-6-1 on the season. “The injuries have been tough on us, but we’re doing the best we can.”
The Crimson Tide have shown that they have the ability to put the puck in the net in their two victories, 6-4 over Salem and 8-4 over Mystic Valley. Shawn Doyle and Stephen Faia each scored two goals in the Salem win, with teammates Sweeney and J.J. McLaughlin each lighting the lamp once.
In the triumph over Mystic Valley, Doyle recorded a hat trick. Chris Griffin added two goals and the trio of Sweeney, Joe Ricupero, and Chris Roderick also lit the red lamp.
The Crimson Tide’s most recent encounter was a 6-2 loss to Medford in which the Tide took a 1-0 to start the game on a goal by James Liberge off a rebound from a shot by Doyle. However, Medford grabbed a 2-1 lead by the end of the first frame and made it 4-1 after two. Liberge, assisted by Faia, got one back for the Tide in the third period, but that would prove to be as close as Everett would get, as Medford added two insurance tallies late in the game.
The Tide will be back in action tonight (Wednesday), hosting Mystic Valley at Allied Veterans Rink. Face off time is 8:00. Naumann and his crew will be back in action Monday on Martin Luther King Day at Quincy.
EHS hockey-alumni game is February 2
The annual Everett High hockey alumni game has been rescheduled to Saturday, February 2 at 3:20 at Allied Veterans Rink. This has been a big hit in the past and all EHS alumni are invited back for some fun, nostalgia, and hockey. All interested should contact coach Alex Naumann at 617-763-3532.
The alumni game will follow the Everett vs. Salem high school game.
Girls hockey team plays well two games
Although the Everett High girls hockey team came out on the short end of both of their contests this past week, the Lady Crimson Tide turned in some fine performances.
In a 5-2 loss to Medford last Wednesday, the contest was a tight 2-1 affair after the first period and 3-1 after two frames. EHS all-star and senior captain Gabby Ramunno potted the Everett goal in the first period, assisted by Meghan McNeil and Alison Ambrogne.
However, Medford lit the lamp twice in the third period to pull away. Rebecca Westgate notched a late tally for Everett, assisted by Ramunno, for the 5-2 final score.
Saturday’s encounter at Cambridge once again saw a closely-contested battle. Cambridge took a 1-0 lead after the first period and led 3-1 after two. Ramunno, assisted by Alea Martinelli, accounted for the Everett lamplighter. Neither team got on the board in the third stanza.
EHS head coach Erin Reilly praised the play of Casarra Roderick in goal and McNeil at defense. “Casarra made 33 saves against Medford and turned aside 57 vs. Cambridge,” said Reilly. “Meghan was all over the ice and gave 100 percent for us.”
Reilly and her crew will play at Peabody tonight (Wednesday) and will host Masconomet Saturday afternoon. Face off time for that encounter at Allied Veterans Rink is 1:10.