RallyNorth.net

Pinkerton defeats Methuen in thriller

Saturday, December, 29 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

METHUEN | With her team trailing Pinkerton Academy by eight points late in the fourth quarter, Methuen coach Karen McLaughlin tuned her voice as high as it could go.

She doesn't remember much of what she said during the timeout, except that she ordered her players not to sulk like former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe used to.

"They probably didn't know who he was," McLaughlin said with a smile.

The Rangers came out firing, storming back to take the lead. But this time, a miracle comeback wasn't enough to save them.

In the end, the Astros persevered, prevailing 58-52 last night in the Greater Lawrence Christmas Tournament semifinals at Klimas Memorial Field House. They'll face Andover in the final tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.

"It's not a thing of beauty when we play, and it won't be all year," Pinkerton coach John Barry said. "We play an ugly game of basketball. Our kids scrap, press, and run all over the court. It's very, very, very ugly and tonight was no different. Somehow we overcame some foul difficulties, and we were able to come out with the win."

The up-and-coming Rangers (3-3), who stormed back from 10 down to upset Central Catholic, 51-47, in the first round of the tourney, could learn a lot from Pinkerton. If anything, the Astros (4-2), who don't have a player taller than 5-9, are tough.

Witness their response to the 10-0 run Methuen used to take a 49-47 lead at 1:51 in the fourth. Pinkerton immediately came back with a 7-2 spurt, which senior guard Brittni Wilson (game-high 20 points) capped by calmly sinking two free throws.

Methuen sophomore guard Ashley Adams quickly hit a 3-pointer to cut the Pinkerton lead from 54-49 to 54-52 with 23.8 seconds on the clock, but the Astros would not be denied. On the next possession, junior guard Trish Ledbetter (14 points) hit the first of two free throws before junior forward Jill Johnston's steal/layup combo off the rebound gave Pinkerton a 57-52 lead, which sealed it.

"We let them take it away from us," said McLaughlin, whose team has already experienced extreme highs (beating Central Catholic) and extreme lows (losing to Billerica) this season. "They did what they had to do to stop us."

Senior center Lea Freeman (7 points) followed up Sunday's brilliant 24-point performance with another good effort, but ended up fouling out at 1:18 in the fourth quarter, just 33 seconds after senior guard Sujaliz Dominguez's layup put the Rangers ahead for the last time.

The loss will sting for a while, McLaughlin said. But with Lowell on tap in the third place game tomorrow at 6 p.m., there's no time to wallow.

"Our goal was to get two wins out of this tournament," McLaughlin said. "We definitely have our work cut out for us."

The only thing for the Rangers to do, she added, is to move on.

"They can't get (the loss) back," she said. "They can only learn from it."