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Wilsons, Lowell too much for Pinkerton

METHUEN, Mass. — AJ Guidi raised her arms incredulously. After sprinting back and diving on a loose ball late in the fourth quarter, she was called for traveling.

The play defined Pinkerton’s night  — full of effort but ultimately disappointing.

The defending champion Astros led 50-46 with 3:30 to play, but fell to Lowell 57-51 in the Greater Lawrence Girls Christmas Tournament final.

“We really wanted to win that,” Guidi said. “Everyone was really pumped up.”

A crowd of about 200 at Klimas Memorial Field House watched Guidi pour in 26 points and grab nine rebounds. The junior guard hit jumpers from everywhere, including four from beyond the arc.

“No doubt about it, she’s a very good ballplayer,” Pinkerton coach John Barry said. “But you can’t depend totally on her.”

The Astros’ next highest scorer, Laura Pierce, scored seven points. And when they needed offense late, there wasn’t any to be found. By late in the fourth quarter, tournament co-MVPs Brianna (21 points) and Whitney (19 points) Wilson had taken over. Brianna, who at 6-foot-3, stands two inches than her twin sister, sank a free throw with 2:02 remaining to cap a 6-0 run and give the Red Raiders a 52-50 lead. A Molly Desmond 3-pointer with 1:05 on the clock gave Lowell a 55-50 cushion, essentially sealing it.

The  improved Wilsons have been a boon to the Red Raiders, who both Central Catholic and Andover will see at least twice more this season.

“Most of it’s conditioning,” said Lowell coach Mike Crowley, whose club outrebounded Pinkerton 41-29. “They need to be in that type of shape where they’re willing to go get all the loose balls and offensive rebounds.”

The Astros, who don’t have a player taller than 5-9, struggled containing the Wilsons, who are believed to be headed to Merrimack College.

“We had a little trouble at the beginning. Anybody would’ve,” Guidi said. “We kind of adapted to what they did, forcing (the ball) back in and out.”

Guidi, who was named to the All-Tournament team, drew raves from Crowley.

“I think Guidi’s awesome,” he said. “We knew that coming in. She still got a lot of points on us.”

Before the game, Guidi had a feeling she’d find her shooting touch.

“My adrenaline was pumping in warm-ups,” said Guidi, who scored 25 points in last year’s final. “I wanted to play so bad.”

But in the end, Lowell proved to be too much. Still, Crowley is well aware that the Merrimack Valley Conference schedule is on tap. His team still has several talented local squads to contend with.

“Central, Andover,” he said. “You know nothing’s easy in our league.”

Polce, Raiders come on strong

North Andover had an upset in its sights, but couldn’t hold on. Central Catholic exploded in the fourth quarter to prevail 51-44 in the third-place game. The Raiders, who trailed by eight early in the third quarter, outscored the Scarlet Knights 20-12 in the final frame to pull away.

Central’s trapping defense smothered North Andover down the stretch. Gabie Polce was outstanding for the Raiders, scoring 19 points.

North Andover’s Nicole Zahoruiko played extremely well in defeat, also scoring 19.

Warriors roll

Nicole Boudreau scored 19 points to lead Andover to a 53-35 defeat of Methuen in the fifth-place game. Point guard Natalie Gomez-Martinez was lethal, scoring 10 points and wreaking havoc with her penetration.

Center Rashidat Agboola led the Rangers with 16 points.

Peters power

Caitlin Peters led the way with 15 points in Salem’s 66-52 win over Lawrence in the seventh-place game.

Lancer Alysia Clark had a big day, scoring 18 points, including 11 in the third quarter.