EHS Roundup
EHS girls win two more, improve to 10-5
The streaking Everett High girls basketball team won two more games this week to extend their winning skein to six games. Coach Tammy Turner’s Lady Crimson Tide, who clinched their second straight Greater Boston League championship last week, now stand at a lofty 10-5 on the season.
Last Tuesday Everett rolled to a 52-37 triumph over Marblehead of the Northeastern Conference, the league that the Lady Crimson Tide will be joining next season. The contest was closer than the final score might indicate, with Everett taking only a slim three-point lead, 23-20, into the locker room at the half.
However, Turner employed a tough, pressing defense after the intermission that paid dividends immediately, quickly boosting the Lady Crimson Tide into a double-digit advantage that Marblehead never was able to challenge.
Nyomi Dottin led a balanced Everett offense with 13 points. Jackie Emmanuel and Yasmeen Guerrier both struck for 11 points and Jalissa Harding, whose steals at the start of the second half keyed the Lady Crimson Tide surge, added eight points. Rounding out the scoring were Kiara Wilkerson with four points, Kloe Cardillo with two, and Carolanne Cardinale with a free throw.
In a contest played Sunday afternoon prior to the Super Bowl, Everett turned the tables on a No. Reading team that had routed the Lady Crimson Tide by 30 points in their first meeting earlier in the season and posted a 47-44 victory.
Turner had her crew tweak its usual defensive alignment to thwart the No. Reading long-range shooting attack. The strategy worked according to plan from the opening tap, as the Lady Crimson Tide held No. Reading to a solitary free throw in the opening period. Everett moved out to a 9-1 at the first buzzer and extended their margin to 15, 17-2, in the second.
Although No. Reading closed the gap to 22-17 by the half, Everett resumed its mastery at both ends of the floor after the intermission to reassert a double digit lead, 39-28, after three periods. The Lady Crimson Tide’s lead never was in serious doubt in the final period, with a No. Reading three-pointer at the final buzzer giving the illusion of a down-to-the-wire battle.
Guerrier turned in a superb game, hitting for a game-high 21 points. Dottin reached double figures with 14 points and Emmanuel struck for eight. Haley Powers and Maddy Duraes both added two points.
With their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney already in hand, Turner and her crew will be vying to land a seat in first class (i.e, attain a high seed and a home game or two) over the final quarter of the season. They were set to trek to Triton last night (Tuesday), travel to Lynn English tomorrow evening, and host Matignon next Wednesday.
EHS hockey team battles well in loss to strong Methuen
Although his team came out on the short end of a 6-2 decision to Methuen Monday night, EHS head coach Erik Kainen said he was pleased with his team’s overall performance.
“We knew going into the game that we would be facing one of the best teams in the area,” said Kainen of the 11-2-3 Methuen squad. “But we never gave up and by the third period, we were playing them evenly.”
Everett was outshot by a wide 22-3 margin in the first period, but in the third stanza, the shots on goal were 16-12 in Everett’s favor as the Crimson Tide attempted to overcome a slim 3-1 deficit.
“We never stopped persevering,” said Kainen. “We were throwing our bodies at pucks to block shots and fighting for every loose puck in the corners. Our message all game was that each player should focus on his work ethic and be proud of the effort they put out on the ice.”
Kainen cited the play of Brian DeLorey as an example of a Tide player who was blocking shots and taking on opponents much larger than himself as an example of the type of hard-nosed effort that picked up the entire team.
Marc Faia and Ryan Snook scored the Everett goals. Bryan Bessler picked up two assists and C.J. Cantone had one assist. EHS goalie Brendan Calderon once again made a number of impressive saves.
The Crimson Tide host Minuteman Regional Saturday at Allied Veterans Rink at 6:30 and trek to Salem State University Saturday evening to take on Swampscott.
Boyce, Everett roll past Salem, 79-62
By Cary Shuman
Junior guard Ghared Boyce scored 25 points to lead the Everett High boys basketball team to a solid 79-62 victory over Salem Monday night in Everett.
Boyce, a Division 1 college prospect and a member of the 1,000-point club, had his high-caliber game in gear for the Tide. Boyce is averaging 21 points a game for Everett who improved its record to 11-1.
Senior forward Jordan McAfee contributed 15 points for the Tide. Theo Zidor, the 6-foot-6-inch starting center, had 12 points. Junior forward Isaiah Likely scored six points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Everett is on a busy stretch of the season heading into an intersectional showdown against Springfield Central (12-1), the No. 1-ranked team in western Massachusetts, Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the Crimson Tide’s homecourt.
Longtime Everett High hoop fans will recall that it was Springfield Central and then-senior guard Travis Best who defeated Everett in the 1991 state championship game. Best, who had an 81-point game during his high school career, was a McDonald’s All-American and went on to play at Georgia Tech and in the National Basketball Association.
New winter ice staking classes
Bay State Skating School has Learn-To-Skate classes offered in 12 Greater Boston rinks: Brookline, Cambridge, Cleveland Circle, Medford, Newton/Brighton, Quincy, Somerville, South Boston, Waltham, West Roxbury and Weymouth. Our emphasis is on having fun while learning to skate.
Bay State Skating School has become a Boston institution, teaching ice skating classes for children ages 4 ½ to 18, for over forty-eight years. Skaters learn recreational, hockey or figure skating skills at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. The winter months are great months for ice-skating.
We have attached a sheet of days and times of lessons in the various rinks, in case you would like to send a photographer and/or a feature writer to capture the fun and excitement as beginners take their first glide and see other skaters’ master new skills. Start a fun routine in 2017!
Bay State Skating School is a non-profit organization. Call 781-890-8480 or go to our web site www.BayStateSkatingSchool.org.