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Methuen outscored Beverly 24-9 in the second period to pull away towards a 57-45 win. Rashidat Agboola recorded a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds.

METHUEN — Pinkerton senior Danielle Kimball scored just three points combined in her team's first two games at the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament.

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.

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

Rashidat Agboola "can do it all," according to Methuen head coach Karen McLaughlin, and the senior proved it in a 53-49 Ranger victory over Dracut. Hitting on three 3-pointers, Agboola finished with 36 points to close within 28 points of the 1,000-point plateau, adding 17 rebounds to the dominant performance.

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.