WHS Girls Hockey Team Hosts St. Mary’s on Saturday

“St. Mary’s is one of the best teams in the state and this game will be a good indication of where we stand,” said Lady Bulldog head coach Anthony Martucci. St. Mary’s presently sports a 9-2 record.

As for the Lady Bulldogs, who are a co-op team comprised of girls from Winthrop, Lynn, Saugus, and Revere, they have built up an impressive 6-2-1 mark, including their most recent wins of 6-1 over Everett and 4-1 over Masconomet.

The Lady Bulldog first line of McKenzie Clark (one goal, two assist), Chelsey Bartlett (three assists), and Hannah LoPresti (two goals, one assist) did most of the damage in the Everett contest.

Freshman Caroline McKinnon also had a big night, lighting the red lamp twice. The triumph marked the second victory of the season for 7th grade goalie Brittany McPherson.

The triumph over Masco was not as close as the final score of 4-1 might indicate. The Lady Bulldogs outshot Masco by a whopping 59-14 margin, but only some stellar play by the Masco goalie (who is recognized as one of the best in the area) kept things from becoming a rout.

Junior Kara Donati scored two goals for the Lady Bulldogs. Clark lit the lamp for her 157th career point and eighth grader Flora English scored on what Martucci termed a “highlight reel goal” when she made an end to end rush, skating around a couple of Masco defenders, and then deking the Masco goalie.

One of the keys to the Lady Bulldogs’ success thus far has been its corps of young but talented defensemen. Eighth grader Julianna Kennedy has been a stalwart at the blue line, as have her teammates, sophomore Kat Salvetti, freshman Casey Harris, eighth grader Vanessa Van Buskirk, freshman Annie Mahoney, and eighth grader Courtney Whyte.

“Our defense is young, but they play very well as a unit,” said Martucci. “They do a great job at blocking shots and clearing the puck from in front of the net.”

After the St. Mary’s encounter, the Lady Bulldogs will play Wednesday against Beverly, which is in second place behind Winthrop in the Northeast Division of the Girls Eastern Mass. Hockey League. A win by Winthrop will clinch the Northeast Division title.

Boys hoop team      falls to Salem

The Winthrop High boys basketball tram dropped its first contest of the season to a Northeastern Conference rival, falling at Salem 52-43 Friday night.

The contest was a close battle all of the way, with Salem holding a slim two point edge at the half, but the Vikings proved unable to overcome a Salem run in the third period that opened up the Witches’ lead to five points.

“We were not at our best,” said WHS head coach Dave Brown, noting that his team shot just 29 percent from the floor and 27 percent from three point land, while also committing 22 turnovers. “We couldn’t build any momentum and we did not do a good job attacking their 3-2 zone.”

Brown also noted that Salem, which plays in the NEC’s North Division, features a number of top quality players who played well against the Vikings.

Jeff Laguerre led Winthrop with 17 points, while Quinton Dale came through with yet another impressive double-double, popping in 12 points and pulling down 18 rebounds.

Winthrop faces two more stern tests against NEC North rivals starting tonight (Thursday) at home against Beverly, which is in first place in the NEC North (Salem is in second) and then on Tuesday hosting Lynn Classical, which always is a tough foe.

Heartbreaking loss    in OT for WHS girls

The Winthrop High girls basketball team has had more than its share of close contests this season and Friday’s encounter with Salem added another to that list of nailbiters down the stretch.

After trailing at the sound of the first three buzzers, 14-10, 27-21, and 37-30, the Lady Vikings rallied in the fourth quarter to draw even when freshman Kristen Siscamanis came through yet again in the clutch, sinking a bucket at the final buzzer to knot matters at 45-45 and sending the game into overtime.

Winthrop coach Ignacio Oyola had called a timeout with 2.9 seconds to play and brought in Siscamanis, who had been on the bench at the time, to take the final shot. Angie Favaloro inbounded the ball from under the Salem basket o Kristen, who came around a screen set by Temison Meggison, for a shot from just outside the lane at the block which Kristen swished through the net.

The four minute OT frame proved to be a close battle which finally came down to a call by the ref with 1.9 seconds to play when he whistled a Winthrop girl for a foul on a putback by a Salem player off an offensive rebound.  With the  score tied at 53-53, the call for a shooting foul all but sealed the Lady Vikings’ fate. The Salem sank her first free throw to provide the margin of victory, 54-53.

“It was a great game,” said Oyola. “Typically you won’t see a call like that in that situation, but that’s how the ref saw it and you have to accept it and move on.”

Meggison came through with her best game of the season, putting together a fine double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Ashelyne Babb and Theresa Jones also came up big for Winthrop with 12 points each. Siscamanis hit for nine points, with Favaloro adding three (plus seven rebounds) and Alyssa Mackey chipping in with two.

Oyola and his Lady Vikings, who now stand at 6-7 on the season, travel to Beverly Friday and to Lynn Classical Tuesday.