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Ashleigh Greer drilled six 3-pointers but it wasn't enough as Lawrence fell to Tewksbury, 60-55. The Lancers now have to win their final three games to qualify for the state tourney.

Trailing by 13 at the half, Lawrence started off the third quarter on an 8-0 run fueled by two 3-pointers by Ashleigh Greer. The Lancers went on to dump Chelmsford 63-58. Red-hot Yulissa Nunez pumped in 22 points, giving her 42 in the last two games. Nunez added 15 rebounds. Janina Santiago added 16 points in her first start.

Lawrence's freshman point guard Angelice Gonzalez had a season-high 18 points and added 7 assists and 3 steals in a 50-43 victory over Amesbury.

Starting for the first time this season, senior Ashley Ozuna celebrated her birthday in style with 6 points and 10 rebounds as part of Lawrence's 47-32 victory over Notre Dame of Tyngsboro.

Senior guard Ashleigh Greer had a huge game with 34 points including six 3-pointers to lift Lawrence past Amesbury 63-49. Trailing 27-26 at the half, Greer hit three 3-pointers in the third and Lawrence dominated the period, 25-8. Yulissa Nunez also was hot from outside with three jumpers in the quarter.

Lowell definitely lost a great deal of talent after graduating twin 6-footers Brianna and Whitney Wilson who were named the co-MVPs of last year's Christmas Tournament while leading their squad to the title. The twins also helped Lowell beat Andover three different times last winter.

METHUEN — Andover freshman Devon Caveney didn’t receive much playing time in the second quarter after she netted three 3-pointers in the first to give her team a 16-point lead yesterday. But Caveney took advantage of the minutes she did play. The freshman came off the bench late in the second quarter and drained another 3-pointer. She then forced a steal that led to another basket and an 18-point halftime lead for the Golden Warriors over Methuen in the semifinals of the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament. Caveney scored 14 points in the first half. She poured in 17 points for the game on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. She also had four steals. She helped Andover to a 89-67 victory over Methuen and a berth in the title game against Central Catholic, which won its semifinal 70-49 over Pinkerton. “I just came ready to play,” Caveney said. “And I just felt it.” Andover star shooter Nicole Boudreau finished with 24 points and netted six 3-pointers. She and Caveney combined for all of Andover’s 11 3-point baskets. But Boudreau struggled some in the first quarter, scoring just four points. Still, Andover gained a comfortable 16-point lead thanks to Caveney’s 11 first-quarter points. She hit two consecutive 3s in the first to put Andover ahead 26-10. “I knew we needed to score there,” Caveney said. Teammate Alyson Fazio added: “She takes really good shots and gives us a kick of energy.” Caveney comes from a basketball family. She said her dad and uncle played for Tewksbury High School. “I started shooting when I was old enough to hold up a basketball,” she said. “He (dad) had me shoot all the time. We have a really nice court in our yard that my family put in when I was young.” “I remember her from the first game,” Methuen senior Rashidat Agboola said, referring to Andover’s 75-42 victory over Methuen on Dec. 17 when Caveney netted three 3-pointers. “She’s solid. She’s going to be a good player for them. Basically, their whole starting lineup is a threat. It makes it hard because you think you’ve stopped one person but they have so many threats.” Agboola scored 27 points and Ashley LeBlanc scored 17. But Methuen turned the ball over 38 times. Andover made 29 steals after forcing 23 against the Rangers the first time the two teams played. Boudreau had a whopping 10 steals. Fazio was one of six Andover players to have more than one steal. “We just tried to pressure the guards and then when (Agboola) got the ball, we just dropped down and tried to pressure her,” Fazio said. Andover’s Dianna Bill scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. “I can’t really finish in practice and I get yelled at but when it comes down to the games, I don’t know what is different but I can always finish better.” Bill said, smiling. Andover 89, Methuen 67 Greater Lawrence Tourney semifinal Andover (89): Fazio 3-0-6, Gomez-Martinez 7-2-16, Caveney 6-0-17, Scarpa 1-0-2, Biles 1-0-2, J. Alois 0-0-0, Boudreau 8-2-24, A. Alois 3-0-6, Drivas 0-0-0, Bill 5-4-14, McDonald 1-0-2, Maturah 0-0-0. Totals: 35-8-89. Methuen (67): Levesque 0-2-2, Condon 3-0-7, LeBlanc 7-3-17, Newell 1-0-2, Costa 3-0-8, Scarelli 0-0-0, Agboola 10-7-27, Petrow 0-1-1, Caterino 0-0-0, Murach 1-1-3.  Totals: 25-14-67 3-pointers: A — Boudreau 6, Caveney 5; M — Costa 2, Condon Methuen (3-2):    12 18 20 17 — 67 Andover (5-0):    28 20 26 15 — 89

METHUEN — Methuen senior Rashidat Agboola had to sweat to earn her 1,000th career point yesterday against Lawrence in the first round of the Greater Lawrence Girls Christmas Tournament.
Agboola and her teammates struggled to get the ball past halfcourt in the first quarter against Lawrence’s full-court press defense and trailed the Lancers 15-3 after just two minutes.  
“I knew I needed to step up for my team,” Agboola said. “We were down and I needed to do something.”
The Boston University recruit led the Rangers on a 9-0 run in the final 2:20 of the quarter, scoring six points in the paint during the stretch to help Methuen tie the score.
Agboola and Methuen remained hot in the second quarter. They outscored Lawrence 27-15, and from there rolled to a 87-60 victory in the first round of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Andover routed Salem 73-34 in the other first-round game.
Andover and Methuen will meet Monday in the semifinals.
Agboola scored 26 points and went over 1,000 with 3:55 left in the first half when she collected a defensive rebound and then dribbled all the way down the court for the score.
Coach Karen McLaughlin immediately called a timeout after the ball sailed through the net and gave her star senior a big hug.   
“I knew it would come tonight and I made arrangements with the Lawrence coach that we would take a timeout,” McLaughlin said. “She’s just an amazing kid. One of a kind. A coach’s dream. The total package. She’s first an excellent student. We can’t forget that. She’s in the top five percent of her class academically. ... So first and foremost she’s a student. As an athlete, she’s just incredible. The way she works at practice every day you’d think she was the low man on the totem poll.”
Agboola received balloons and flowers from her proud parents minutes after the game.
“After I scored it, it just felt kind of unreal,” said Agboola, who now has 1,013 career points.
Agboola also collected eight rebounds. Two of her three field goals on the 9-0 run were putbacks.
The 6-foot Agboola actually has been playing some point guard. “We knew that (position) was our weakness and having her take the ball up helps,” McLaughlin said.
Lawrence coach Dan Blouin added about Agboola: “She’s very quick and athletic and she uses that to her advantage. She knows where she wants to get the basketball and she works hard to get there.”
Rachel Condon, the co-captain with Agboola, scored 10 points despite a sprained ankle.
She didn’t start because of the injury, but netted a 3-pointer on the 9-0 run to tie the score 17-17.
“I never not want to play,” Condon said. “I’m just glad I can help out in anyway I can.”
Ashley LeBlanc scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, had four assists and swatted four shots.
“Having her step up like that is going to make us stronger,” Agboola said. “It’s going to give us so many more options. ... It obviously takes some of the pressure off me and everyone else.”
Lawrence senior Ashleigh Greer scored a game-high 27 points.
“We’re young, we’re getting better, but depth is tough for us,” Blouin said.

Methuen 87, Lawrence 60
Lawrence (60): Tejeda 1-0-2, Sicard 3-0-6, Valentin 1-0-2, Gonzalez 3-0-6, Nunez 2-0-4, Rodriguez 4-1-9, Santiago 0-4-4, Greer 11-2-27, Ozuna 0-0-0, Roman 0-0-0, Gudiel 0-0-0, Lopez 0-0-0. Totals: 25-7-60
Methuen (87): Levesque 1-0-2, Condon 4-0-10, LeBlanc 8-4-20, Grenier 1-0-2, Newell 2-0-4, Costa 5-1-16, Scarelli 2-1-5, Agboola 10-6-26, Petrow 1-0-2, Caterino 0-0-0,  Totals: 34-12-87
3-pointers: L — Greer 3; M — Costa 5, Condon 2
Methuen (3-1):    17 27 25 18 — 87
Lawrence (1-3):    17 15 14 14 — 60

Gabby Polce, Central Catholic junior, had 10 steals and hit for 15 points in a 74-27 victory over Lawrence.

Methuen got off to a fast start to this season literally, outscoring Lawrence 30-4 in the first quarter.

Methuen's Rashidat Agboola, who had an area-best 21.7 points per game last winter, scored 25 points to lead all scorers. Meanwhile, Ashley LeBlanc scored 11 and grabbed 12 rebounds.