RallyNorth.net

Sun, Dec 23, 2007 06:00 PM @ Methuen

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Greater Lawrence Girls Christmas Tournament
Central Catholic	10	13	10	14	47
Methuen	8	7	16	20	51

Methuen beats Central for first time since 2003

Monday, December, 24 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

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 Rangers obliged their coach, hitting their free-throws down the stretch to close out a 51-47 win over the Raiders last night in the first round of the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament.

"It's just awesome," McLaughlin said. "This is an early Christmas present. I don't care if there's nothing under my tree. The only thing I wanted was a win."

The Rangers broke a streak of seven straight Central wins in the series. Methuen last beat the Raiders | the No. 4-ranked team in Eastern Massachusetts | on Jan. 9, 2003.

"We just had desire," said senior guard Sujaliz Dominguez (13 points), whose 15-foot jumper from the corner gave the Rangers a 47-45 lead with just over a minute to go. "We exploded today."

Senior center Lea Freeman, whose left cheek was left bloodied by a collision under the basket in the second half, had a career night, scoring a career-high 24 points while helping keep Central Catholic super-sophomore Katie Zenevitch (8 points, 12 rebounds) in check.

"You have to be tough," Freeman said. "In the end, we pulled through."

She's right. The Rangers closed out the game on a 16-2 run to overcome a 45-35 fourth-quarter deficit.

"Alright," Freeman admitted saying to herself before the comeback, "maybe not this year."

Then, at 2:49 in the final frame, Zenevitch fouled out. A minute later, senior forward Anna Mackey swished a 15-footer from the corner to tie the game 43-43.

After Dominguez's bucket gave Methuen the lead, the 300-plus fans at Larry Klimas Memorial Field House erupted. Then, a defensive stop on the ensuing possession gave the Rangers the ball back.

After a timeout, sophomore guard Katelyn Ortiz got fouled. "My butt was on the line," she said. (Both literally and figuratively.)

Unfazed, she sank two free throws. Sophomore center Rashidat Agboola's thunderous block on the next possession sealed the win. "They played with a lot of guts," said McLaughlin, whose club overcame two double-digit Central leads, including a 29-19 gap early in the second half.

Central senior guard Jackie Vienneau (team-high 16 points) acknowledged that her team lacked fire late.

"We thought we had the game," said Vienneau, whose team will play Lawrence in the consolation round Friday at 4:15 p.m. The Rangers, on the winning end of this matchup for the first time in nearly five years, were still in shock afterward.

"There was a big rush running through my body," said Dominguez, whose team will play Pinkerton in the second semifinal Friday at 7:45 p.m. "We've been waiting so long for this chance."