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Minutes before Methuen secured the biggest upset of the young season, coach Karen McLaughlin reminded her team of what was at stake.

The Rangers, who were leading Central Catholic by two points with a minute to play, were acting too giddy, too early. "Pay attention to me instead of celebrating!" she yelled. In other words, stay calm. Slow down. Breathe.

The Rockport girls basketball team will not be going into the holiday break the way they would've like to.

That's because the Vikings happened to catch Amesbury on a night when the Indians played near-perfect basketball en route to a dominating 61-18 victory last night.

Ipswich junior Amber Smith has a reputation for coming up big in big games. Her trip to North Andover last night was no different.

The Tigers' talented junior hit 9-of-16 floor shots in a 21 point effort that carried the undefeated visitors (4-0) to a 45-31 girls' basketball victory over North Andover.

WEST NEWBURY | Sophomore guard Emily Lane is making the most of her opportunity for the talented Pentucket girls basketball team.

Primarily a JV player last year, Lane is among those battling to provide the Sachems with added depth this season and, in last night's 59-20 romp over Georgetown, she once again stated her case, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting with one 3-pointer and generally moving the ball effectively in the backcourt.

Among North Shore girls basketball coaches, Jane Heil may be the only one who has been coaching long enough to remember when the high school game was broken up into four quarters. She also may be the only coach who doesn't have any gripes about the MIAA going back to that format this season.

Despite its outstanding first-half performance, Pinkerton coach John Barry knew his team was unsure of itself.

The Astros led Timberlane by nine points at the half and played dominant defense in both the first and second quarter, but given the way they'd play in the first two games, he knew his girls were slightly unsure of themselves. However, Pinkerton barely weathered a 27-point second half from Timberlane and edged the Owls 53-49 in overtime to earn its first win of the year.

In seventh grade, Rashidat Agboola shot up like a beanstalk. It came suddenly, she said. By the end of the school year, she was 5-foot-11.

Shocked at first, Agboola wasn't sure what to do. She figured out quickly.

Thanks to its junior class, the Beverly High girls basketball team now has its first victory of the season.

Junior guards Kellie Shea and Jess Shaw both scored 16 points last night as the Panthers went on the road to defeat Revere, 74-52, in Northeastern Conference action. Fellow 11th grader Meghan Chatellier, a forward, dropped in 11 points to help aid the victory. Breezy Dwyer added four points and eight rebounds and Alex Vavladellis chipped in with five steals and a basket.

Whenever Haverhill girls basketball Kevin Woelfel walks into Mansfield Gym, he looks up at the program's six state championship banners.

"It means a lot to me," he said, "because I know how much hard work the players put in."

No matter the sport, defense always wins championships as any coach will tell you. In only its second game of the season, the Gloucester girls basketball team seems to be living by that motto as they recorded 23 steals en route to a 56-26 win over Marblehead.