Sports 02-17-2016

EHS Roundup

Girls basketball team wins in final seconds to improve to 13-3

Nyomi Dottin scored the game-winning basket with 10 seconds to play to give the Everett High girls basketball team a dramatic 59-58 victory over Haverhill Monday evening.

The contest had been a nip-and-tuck affair all the way, with Haverhill narrowly  leading at the first three junctures — 16-14, 32-27, and 42-41 — but it was the Lady Crimson Tide who held the larger score when it counted at the final buzzer.

Everett was trailing, 58-57, with 21 seconds to play and in possession of the ball when EHS head coach Tammy Turner called a timeout to draw up a play.

“We figured that they would be expecting (senior captain) Talia Riccioli to take the final shot, because Talia had been driving to the basket all game,” said Turner, “so we decided instead to have Nyomi post up and give her a chance to put us ahead.”

Riccioli took the ball off the inbounds pass and hit Dottin with a perfect feed in the low post, from where Nyomi made a nice move around her Haverhill defender and took the ball in for a layup.

The Everett defense then held firm for the final 10 seconds to preserve the victory. “Haverhill hurt us in the first half with their outside shooting — they were hitting threes from all over the floor — so we needed to step up our game on defense,” said Turner. “I was very proud of how the girls responded, especially in a pressure situation down the stretch.”

Riccioli led the Lady Crimson Tide with 13 pouts, followed by Dottin and Yasmeen Guerrier with 11 points apiece. Jalissa Harding added nine points, Kiana Wilkerson chipped in six, and Paige Fialho dropped in four.

The contest was part of a tournament being played in Lawrence that features the four schools from the Greater Boston League taking on four schools from the Merrimack Valley League.

The Lady Crimson Tide now will face Methuen tomorrow (Wednesday) evening. Everett played Methuen this past Friday and came out on the short end of a 43-37 decision. The Lady Crimson Tide were coming off a 12-day layoff and the rust was evident in the team’s performance, especially on the offensive end.

“We had been on a nice roll before our break, but we clearly had lost our rhythm,” said Turner. “You can practice and practice, but it is not a substitute for playing two or three games every week.”

Riccioli paced the Everett offense with 16 points. “We’re playing Methuen again Wednesday and we’ll be looking forward to avenging that loss,” said Turner.

The Lady Crimson Tide resumed their winning ways two days later with a 48-40 triumph at Salem. Salem, which plays in the Northeastern Conference, entered the contest needing a victory in order to qualify for a spot in the state tourney.

However, despite an intense effort by the Lady Witches, Everett played the spoiler role with a gritty performance.

Although Riccioli scored only nine points, Turner credited the senior captain, who certainly is a candidate for the GBL Player of the Year honors, with taking Salem’s top scorer out of the game thanks to Talia’s drives to the hoop that drew fouls on the Salem girl, necessitating her to hit the bench early.

“Salem came out with a lot of fight and led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter,” noted Turner. “But Talia really stepped up — especially after Yaz Guerrier had to come out with foul trouble — and kept taking the ball to the basket.”

Everett took a 22-20 lead into the half and expanded the advantage after the intermission to 34-28 after three frames.

Dottin was a force for the Lady Crimson Tide with a team-high 16 points. Guerrier reached double figures with 11 points, followed by Haley Powers and Kloe Cardillo with four each, and Fialho and Wilkerson with two apiece.

With their record at a sterling 13-3 and both the GBL title and a state tourney berth already in hand, the Lady Crimson Tide will be playing for a high seed and as many tourney home games as possible in their final four games.

After tonight’s battle with Methuen, Turner and her crew meet Triton Friday and will wrap up the season next week, hosting Marblehead Tuesday and Haverhill Thursday. They then will await the MIAA’s announcement of their tourney seeding and first round opponent.

Streaking EHS hockey  team wins two more

The streaking Everett High hockey team won two more games this past week to raise its record on the season to 10-8.

After a 4-3 victory last Wednesday against former long-time Greater Boston League rival Revere, the Crimson Tide defeated Somerville, 5-1, in the opening round of the annual Mulloy Tournamment Monday evening at Allied Veterans Rink.

J.J. MacLaughlin potted a pair of goals for Everett. Ray Suppa (a goal and two assists) and Louis Staffieri (one goal) also contributed to the EHS scoring attack.

“Our success has come from solid team leadership by our older players and the team’s willingness not to be outworked by our opponents,” said EHS head coach Jason Lawrence, whose Crimson Tide have turned their season around with seven wins in their last eight contests and who have claimed a share of a GBL title for the first time since 1970 . “We have been believing in the process all year and taking it one game at a time. Our work ethic has been there all season and now everything seems to be coming together and we are getting rewarded.”

Lawrence and his crew will meet Northeast Regional this evening (Wednesday) in the Mulloy championship game at 7 p.m. at Allied Veterans. The Crimson Tide will be seeking to avenge a 5-4 loss to the Golden Knights earlier in the season.

The Crimson Tide will close out their regular season next Wednesday at Revere and then await word from the MIAA of their post-season seeding and first-round opponent.

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