RallyNorth.net

Tue, Jan 15, 2008 07:00 PM @ Lynnfield

Team	Final
Manchester Essex	35
Lynnfield	27

Strong first half helps Manchester Essex win over Lynnfield

Wednesday, January, 16 By Richard Slate
Staff writer

After playing its best half of the season (jumping out to a 25-12 lead), the Manchester Essex girls basketball team survived a scoreless third quarter and took a 35-27 win over Cape Ann League foe Lynnfield.

The Hornets (5-5, 2-3) made enough timely hoops and big plays in the fourth quarter to erase their third quarter struggles. "The first was our best half of the season in terms of effort and getting to the spots on defense. In the second half, we hit a slump but we never gave up the lead (it got as close as two)," said Manchester Essex head coach Lauren Dubois. "We're working on how to win and this was a good test."

Utilizing a swarming full-court press, Manchester Essex opened the game on a 14-2 run. Senior center Dani Ciccone (12 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) scored ten points in the first quarter and junior point guard Lee Stroman (11 points, 5 rebounds) scored six as the Hornets had a convincing 18-4 lead after one.

Missed free throws, something that almost came back to haunt Manchester Essex (6 of 22 for the game), started coming in bunches in the second quarter as the Hornets missed six of seven attempts. The Pioneers (2-9, 1-4) dormant offense started to wake up as senior forward Diana Triffletti (12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) and sophomore guard Jamie Harris (5 points) both hit a 3-pointer in the second.

"It was great to get out to an early lead," Ciccone said. "We came out with a lot of intensity and a lot of heart. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game."

The third quarter was about as ugly as it could get for the Hornets as their offense disappeared while Lynnfield scored 11 points of their own to climb right back into it. Triffletti heated up as she scored seven in the third.

Despite the pressure of almost blowing a big lead on its home court, Manchester Essex stayed poised in the fourth quarter and sealed the game with a couple important baskets.

Stroman broke the scoring drought when she sank both free throws with 7:13 left in the game. Later, junior forward Elsa Keefe (4 points, 4 rebounds) scored on the inside and then freshman spark plug Lizzie Ball (6 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists) hit the biggest hoop of the game: a 3-pointer to put Manchester Essex up 32-27 with 2:26 left. Ball added another hoop and Stroman notched one more free throw for the win.

Afterwards, Dubois was excited about the win but felt like her team had plenty to work on, starting with Friday's encounter with CAL heavyweight Masconomet. "It felt good to get the win, we had a really great first half. We need to put two complete halves together though."

"They played us tough," remarked Ciccone. "We collected ourselves, put our heads back in the game and closed it out for the win. Our defense was great, everybody stayed with their man. We had good boxing out on rebounds."

When asked who played well, Dubois cited her whole team. "Dani had a big game, Lee broke their press. Everybody contributed to the win and that's all you can ask for."