RallyNorth.net

Gloucester's Hickey reflects on eventful basketball season

As we still sit in limbo waiting for the high school spring sports season to begin, now is as good a time as any to clean out the old inbox and take a  look at how a few of our local athletes are performing at their respective colleges.

Belmont's height too much for Fishermen

Last night the Gloucester girls basketball team was reminded that basketball is indeed a tall person's sport.

The young and relatively inexperienced 12th-seeded Fishermen, with Jill Lukegord as the team's lone senior, met No. 5 Belmont in the opening round of the Division 2 North state tournament. However, experience was not so much the issue in this contest. Height was.

Gloucester falls in tight rematch with Vikings

Last night can be treated as a measuring stick for how much the Gloucester girls basketball team has improved over the past few weeks.

On Feb. 1, the Fishermen suffered their worst loss of the season against Winthrop, a 26-point defeat to the mighty Vikings. However, in last night's rematch, Gloucester proved once again that it can indeed play with a premier team, as the Fishermen took host Winthrop to overtime before falling 58-51.

Danvers girls shine on Senior Night with win over Gloucester

It was Senior Night at Danvers High School. It proved to be an excellent motivator for the Falcons girls basketball team.

"I'm glad we got to have it at home," Coach Pat Veilleux said. "We had a good crowd come out for it and it really got the girls going."

Lufkin's free throws put first place Swampscott away

All it takes for Olivia Lufkin to succeed in a pressure-packed situation is a few words of encouragement.

At least that's all it took last night.

With Lufkin and her Gloucester girls basketball team trailing Northeastern Conference front-runner Swampscott 51-50 with 12.7 seconds left on the clock, the sophomore guard stepped up to the free-throw line with a chance give the Fishermen the lead.

Gloucester's tight defense helps Fishermen clinch tourney berth

A total team effort on both ends of the floor put the Gloucester girls basketball team back in the postseason after an absence of a year.

Nine different players scored as Gloucester also recorded 18 steals en route to a 61-30 win over visiting Saugus (2-14). With the win, the Fishermen (10-5, 8-4) clinched a tournament berth with four games still remaining in the regular season.

Lady Vikings send Gloucester to humbling defeat, 73-47

Riding a five-game winning streak coming into last night, the Gloucester girls basketball team had a chance to see how they stacked up against one of the premier teams in Eastern Mass.

By the end of the night the Fishermen found out that Winthrop is every bit as good as their 12-1 record would suggest, as Gloucester fell to the Vikings, 73-47, on its home court.

Fishermen take care of Patriots, setting up showdown with Winthrop

There would be no looking ahead for the Gloucester girls basketball team. The Fishermen (9-4) won their fifth in a row, 64-50 over visiting Revere. Next, Winthrop comes to Gloucester on Friday in a huge NEC showdown. If Gloucester can knock off the Vikings, they'll clinch a tournament berth and score its biggest win of the season.

Gloucester girls starting to click

When you ask Jon Flanagan if he believes his Gloucester girls basketball team is playing their best ball of the season, the Fishermen head coach channels his inner Bill Belichick.

"I think we're improving, but there's a long way to go," said Flanagan, answering the aforementioned question in true Belichickian form, which always looks ahead and never behind.

Team effort leads to win

The Fishermen (7-4) picked up a nice win led by senior Jill Lukegord's game-high 15 points. Freshman guard Hannah Cain notched 12 points in the win and sophomore center Mary Unis added nine.

"It was an excellent team effort, they shared the basketball," said Gloucester head coach Jon Flanagan. "They were much more focused defensively and rebounded better in the second half." Gloucester is off until next Friday when it goes to Lynn English.

Tanners stay unbeaten in NEC by knocking off Gloucester

PEABODY | Even when they don't play their best, it's usually enough for the Peabody High girls basketball team to prevail.

While Peabody head coach Jane Heil wasn't happy about some aspects of the game, her Tanners played well enough to earn their sixth straight win in Northeastern Conference play, beating a scrappy Gloucester team, 62-50, at the Veterans Memorial gym.

Fishermen freshman Cain providing early-season spark

Last year's Gloucester girls basketball team and this year's Fishermen squad currently share something in common, and the stress in on the word currently.

As of now, Gloucester has won four games, which matches the team's total from last year's disappointing 4-14 record. Of course, it doesn't appear that the similarity will be here for the long run, because this year's Fishermen have a 4-2 record and appear poised to rack up several more victories with more than half of the season remaining.

Gloucester equals last year's win total

The high school basketball season isn't even half over yet, but the Gloucester girls basketball team has already equalled its success of last year.

The Fishermen picked up a 66-42 win over Amesbury last night to improve to 4-2 on the season. Gloucester finished with just a 4-14 record one year ago.

Gloucester girls basketball falls to Dover-Sherborn in final

For three quarters, the Gloucester girls basketball team played evenly with Dover-Sherborn in the Mustang Classic Holiday Tournament Final at Marian. The teams were tied 40-40 heading into the fourth quarter, but foul trouble caught up with the Fishermen in the final frame as the Raiders eventually prevailed, 66-47.

Gloucester advances to holiday tourney championship

The Gloucester girls basketball team will have the chance to close out 2007 as champions.

They earned that opportunity by defeating Marian High School, 49-30, in the Mustang Classic girls basketball holiday tournament in Framingham. The Fishermen will play Dover-Sherborn in the tourney championship game today (4:15 p.m.).

Balanced attack leads Gloucester over Marblehead in home opener

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.

Gloucester Girls Basketball Preview

Last year's record: 4-14

Coach: Jon Flanagan

Key returnees: Lindsey Rogers (Capt.), Jr., guard; Jillian Lukegord, Sr., guard; Olivia Lufkin, So., guard.

Key departures: None