RallyNorth.net

ANDOVER | Andover High coach Jim Tildsley was quick to note the key to victory last night.

"We played great defense," said Tildsley. "To hold a team to 16 points through three quarters is pretty impressive. And they scored eight points right away."

Pentucket Regional's Kirsten Daamen remembers the moment when her basketball career truly began. It was moments after a seventh grade travel-team game, and John McNamara, who was filling in while her coach was on vacation, wanted a word. He asked her to come out for the spring squad, the one he'd be coaching.

If it had been up to him, Pentucket coach John McNamara would have drawn up another game plan and immediately sent his troops back on the court after the final horn had sounded last night.

After trailing for three quarters, the Sachems fought back to build a six-point fourth quarter advantage, only to let it slip away down the stretch in a 55-53 loss to Masconomet. The win boosted the Chieftains into first in the CAL Large (8-1, 5-0 CAL) ahead of previously unbeaten Pentucket (10-1, 4-1 CAL).

As a conductor, coach John McNamara won the best new artist of the year award last winter for producing the storybook run to the state semifinals with the Pentucket girls basketball team. A year season, the second-year coach and his band of blossoming superstars are once again producing the hits.

HAVERHILL | The Pentucket girls basketball team may need to adopt a new motto.

"The bigger the game, the better we play."

Similar to its run in the Division 3 state tournament last season, that again seemed to be the case last night in the championship game of the Haverhill Coca-Cola Christmas Hoop Classic as the Sachems smothered previously unbeaten Swampscott, 51-35.

HAVERHILL | One shot in the third quarter of yesterday's Pentucket-Cambridge semifinal matchup in the Haverhill Christmas Tournament by sophomore standout Ashley Viselli just might have a domino effect.

HAVERHILL | Pentucket's girls accomplished their immediate mission in the opening day of the Haverhill Coca-Cola Tournament, but that was one of the only positives cited by head coach John McNamara.

After the unbeaten Sachems (5-0) scrapped past Timberlane, 41-34, McNamara was hardly satisfied.

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.

Erin McNamara led the Sachems (3-0) with 14 points. Ashley Viselli scored 10 for Pentucket. Emily Lane and Kirsten Daamen added eight each. Andrea Attenasio had six.

"We need to clean up a few details, but Triton is always a tough place to play," Pentucket coach John McNamara said. Brittany Caprio and Maxine Crossman led Triton (0-3) with seven points each. Lauren Mihalchick added six. Sarah Peterson scored four. Lauren Savage added three.

Back to its winning ways, Pentucket tuned up Newburyport to the extent of a 49-31 victory, but Sachems coach John McNamara said the Clippers never gave up.

"You can see why those soccer girls from Newburyport won the state championship because they never gave up no matter what the score was," said McNamara, whose team led 24-8 at the half. "They really outplayed us in the second half and forced us to make more turnovers than we normally do."