SENIOR CAPTAIN Faith Newton was named to the North Reading Holiday All-Tournament team with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks against Danvers followed by 11 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks against Wakefield (pictured). (Eric Evans Photo)
NORTH READING — The North Reading High girls’ basketball team is off to a solid start to their season going 3-2 in the month of December.
Opening the season on Dec. 16 at Amesbury, the Hornets jumped out to a 13–2 first quarter lead and never looked back on route to a 51–19 win. Senior captain Faith Newton led the way with 14 points, along with juniors Caitlin Reilly (12 points) and Bella Cannalonga (11 points). Senior Captain Sami Patch added 6 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists while holding Amesbury’s best player to only 4 points.
In their second game of the season on Dec. 20, the Hornets traveled to West Newbury for the inaugural game in the new Pentucket High School gym. The girls played a tough physical game and stayed within two points late into the third period before a big Pentucket run over the final 10 minutes led to a 42–22 loss. Senior captain Halee Torra was a bright spot for the Hornets with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
The home opener for the Hornets was Dec. 23 in a non-league contest against Stoneham. The girls jumped out to a 28–17 halftime lead on their way to a 47-37 win. Leading the way for North Reading was Newton with 19 points and fellow senior captain Brianne Slattery with 14 points. Torra added 4 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
Freshman Kiersten Higgins was a spark off the bench with 2 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal in her varsity debut.
In the second annual North Reading Holiday Invitational Tournament held over December 27 and 29, the
Hornets went 1-1 with a first round win over Danvers and a championship round loss to Wakefield.
In the opening round game against Danvers, the Hornets built a 22-9 halftime lead and used a big fourth quarter run to complete a 49-30 win. Slattery led the effort with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Newton (13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks), Patch (9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals), Torra (3 points, 5 rebounds) and Cannalonga (6 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) also played key roles in the win.
In the championship game against Wakefield, the Hornets were in a tight defensive
battle with the Warriors all night long. North Reading trailed 28-20 after three quarters but a 4th quarter run by Wakefield led to a 37-22 defeat. Newton led the way for North Reading with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Patch contributed 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Newton and Patch were both named to the All-Tournament team for North Reading.
The Hornets (4-2) returned to CAL action on Tuesday with a 52-45 win over Triton. They travel to Stoneham for a rematch with the Spartans on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and host Ipswich on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.