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Sachems pound Archbishop Williams, 62-37, on to state final

BOSTON — “You can’t stop her! You can’t stop her!”

The Pentucket student section chanted this after senior Erin McNamara snuck past a pair of Archbishop Williams defenders and scored a lay-up with 26 seconds left in the first half of the Division 3 state semifinal contest yesterday at the TD Garden.

McNamara had just scored eight straight points in 67 seconds to help the Sachems take a 12-point lead into halftime.

The Bishops (now 19-6) could not stop her while the Sachems (26-0) certainly stopped the Bishops’ star, holding 6-4 Michigan recruit Valerie Driscoll to six points, over 15 under her average.

McNamara scored 28 points, netted five 3-pointers, had five assists, three rebounds and three steals to lead her team to a 62-37 victory.

With Pentucket ahead by 29 points and 2:43 left in the game, McNamara walked off the TD Garden court and hugged her father, coach John McNamara. 

“I said to her, ‘We did it,’” John McNamara said. “These kids have been driven since we lost to Swampscott last year (in the North final) and our motto has been, ‘Unfinished Business.’ This was a nice way to finish up business because they had beaten us twice (2007 and 2008 state semis at the Garden). They’re a great team. A great program. They’ve been here four years in a row.”

Erin McNamara added: “Usually when he gives me a hug at the Garden it’s when I’m crying and upset that we lost. So just being happy this time, it felt great and knowing that we have one more game to go out and win before we really celebrate.”

Pentucket plays for the Division 3 championship on Saturday at 10:45 a.m. at the DCU Center in Worcester against the winner of tonight’s Quaboag vs. Lee game.

After McNamara hugged her dad, she received a hug from fellow Cape Ann League Division 1 co-MVP Ashley Viselli.

“I said to her, ‘Three-hundred and sixty-five days of sweat, blood and tears for a state championship, what more do you want?’” Viselli said. “During the game she was saying, ‘I’m so tired. I can’t go anymore.’ I told her, ‘You were more tired over the summer when we were working out. You’re not tired right now.’”

Erin McNamara was terrific throughout the game.

“MVP, MVP, MVP,” the Sachems student section chanted as McNamara drove in for another lay-up in the third quarter to give her team a 17-point lead. 

McNamara never looked tired as she was up front on the Sachems’ impressive press defense, which forced 35 Archbishop Williams turnovers and made 18 steals.

“It definitely feels good to hear (the chants),” McNamara said. “I don’t know. Ash and I have been lifting. We’ve been playing AAU since fall and spring so everything that we’ve been working for has just come together. The way we prepare for every game just makes me feel a lot more comfortable.”

The Sachems led just 22-21 with 2:17 left in the first half but they finished off the second period on a 11-0 run. Viselli started off the rally with a 3-pointer.

“Ashley is a big-game player,” John McNamara said. “That was huge.”

McNamara then scored the next eight points on a three-point play, a 3-pointer and lay-up.

“We went into half on an 11-0 run. It set the tone for the rest of the game,” John McNamara said. 

Erin McNamara, who was wearing her “Unfinished Business” T-shirt after the game, also went on a nice run in the third quarter. She scored her team’s first five points on a 3-pointer and a driving lay-up.

“She was lights out,” senior guard Emily Lane said. “Erin, she knows when she has to step up and she’s just the type of player who if our fence is down, Erin pulls through for us all the time. It was probably her best game ever. She scored half our points at one point. We were looking up and we were at 54 and Erin had 27.”

Third time the charm

If it weren’t for Archbishop Williams, Pentucket might be playing for its third state title. But it was the Bishops who put up championship banners in 2007 and 2008.

Both years they beat the Sachems in the Garden then posted easy wins in the Division 3 state title game.