LAWRENCE – A week ago, after knocking off Concord Carlisle in their state tournament opener, "Andover" was a forbidden word for the Central Catholic girls.
“They know better (than to even think about Andover),” said Raider coach Casey Grange said after the playoff opener.
Friday night on their home court in the MIAA Division 1 state quarterfinals, the Raiders earned the right to again think about the top-seeded Warriors and a shot at vindication. No. 4 Central drilled No. 5 Bishop Feehan of Attleboro, 63-50.
In a matchup that seemed all but predestined when the pairings were announced, it will be Andover-Central Catholic: Round 3, in the state semis with the right to play for a championship hanging in the balance.
“It’s great. We’ve been wanting another shot at them, and I feel like we’re so well-prepared,” said Central’s sensational sophomore Ashley Dinges, who continued her assault on the D-1 field with 26 points and 18 rebounds. “We’ve played some really big teams since then. We’ve all put so much hard work and effort into everything. We have the mentality we can do anything we put our minds to.”
Central, now 19-4, assumed control early on against Feehan, building a 16-8 lead after one quarter and holding the margin at 28-20, going into halftime.
Dinges, who is averaging 28.3 points a game in the postseason, owned the third quarter with a dozen points, five boards and one silky no-look assist to Leah Deleon as Central bumped the advantage to 14 at 47-33. Feehan would not challenge again.
“This group is just so fun to work with because they don’t care about anything. They’re fearless, fun-loving, happy-go-lucky. If they’re playing LeBron James they don’t care,” said Grange of her group’s handling this quarterfinal challenge with relative ease. “They’re like ‘Let’s go!’ I’m throwing up because I’m so nervous and they’re laughing at me because they’re ready.”
Dinges doesn’t sound like a sophomore when she speaks of the Raiders' confident, laid-back approach.
“Practices are literally so intense that games feel like practice,” said the 6-footer. “We just beat each other up and we’re best friends after. We get in the games, and we are used to getting beat up. It’s the perfect scenario.”
Central got a dozen from sophomore sniper Sam Guertin, who canned four 3-pointers. Seniors Claire Finney (9 points) and Arlenis Veloz (8) were all over the floor, per usual.
And now the countdown begins. The Merrimack Valley champion Warriors knocked off Central twice on their way through a perfect conference campaign. The last came on Central’s senior night, a two-point decision that belonged to Andover’s Amelia Hanscom, who had a career-high 24 points in that one.
“We believe we can put it together and give them a good game,” said Grange.
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Girls Basketball, 03/12/22 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Unbeaten Braintree, the state’s top club, got an unexpected scare from
an Andover club with just five wins. The Golden Warriors cut it to five
points in the fourth before succumbing 54-45. Jillian Webber was
brilliant with 24 points against a Wamps club which beat AHS in the 2015
state semis.
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Girls Basketball, 03/19/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Greater Lawrence Tech freshman Ariana Cruz had a best of 30-8 to place eighth in the shot put by a half inch at the Division 3 State Meet. The top eight advance to All-States. Reggies coach Jay Santomassino said Cruz is the first Reggie girl in over 20 years to make All-States.
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Girls Indoor Track, 02/11/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Greater Lawrence Tech freshman Ariana Cruz had a best of 30-8 to place eighth in the shot put by a half inch at the Division 3 State Meet. The top eight advance to All-States. Reggies coach Jay Santomassino said Cruz is the first Reggie girl in over 20 years to make All-States.
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Girls Indoor Track, 02/11/16 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Ali Attenasio broke her own Pentucket record with an 11-1 to win the EMass. Division 3 Meet. That broke her own mark by an inch and set a new meet record. McKenna Kilian placed second in the high jump and third in the 400 for the Sachems, who placed eighth.
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Girls Track and Field, 05/31/14 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Pentucket's 4X200 relay team (Lexi Kitsakos, Bernadette Corrado, Bre Yocum, Brittany Adams) placed an unexpected sixth at the Division III state relays.
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Girls Indoor Track, 01/17/10 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
After both teams beat EMass ranked opponents in the semis, Central Catholic will meet Pentucket today in the finals of the Comcast Tournament at B.C. High.
Ranked sixth in eastern mass, Central took down No. 7 Bishop Feehan 68-57 in the semi finals as Katie Zenevitch dropped 29 points and grabbed 16 boards.
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Girls Basketball, 02/14/09 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
