After press time: North Reading falls to Hamilton-Wenham 42-39 (Jan. 23)
Published January 25, 2024
NORTH READING — The North Reading girls’ basketball team continued their run of solid play with a dominant 69-30 win over new CAL league member Essex Tech on Jan. 19 to improve to 7-4 on the season. It was teacher appreciation night at North Reading and the team honored their favorite teachers in a pregame ceremony and then displayed to their teachers that they are very capable on the court as well as the classroom.
After a back-and-fourth first four minutes in which the visitors held a 9-8 advantage, the Hornets closed out the last four minutes of the first quarter with an 19-0 run to open up a 27-9 lead at the end of the first period. The second quarter saw North Reading continue its strong play, extending the lead to 43-15 at halftime.
In a game that had all 14 Hornet players get into the contest and 11 different girls get into the scoring column, it was truly a team effort as North Reading accumulated 22 assists on 27 made baskets.
Sophie Gallivan led the way with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Bella Cannalonga (10 points, 3 assists), Maggie Schulz (10 points), Ariana Demetri (8 points, 3 rebounds, 6 steals), Allie Lanciani (7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Mak Murphy (6 points, 3 rebounds) all provided plenty of scoring support.
The assist parade was contributed to by Kiersten Higgins (4), Juliet Wasilewski (4), and Caitlin Reilly (3 assists).
Freshman Gabby Montayne scored her first varsity points with a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
“Watching the unselfish passing, where we had players who had a good shot opportunity but passed it to a teammate for an even better shot, was really satisfying to watch just knowing that these girls are all working hard to make each other more successful on the court,” said head coach Bob Romeo.
The Hornets fell to 7-5 when they were edged by Hamilton-Wenham 42-39 on Tuesday night. North Reading travels to Triton High on Friday night at 6 p.m. They host Ipswich on Monday night at 6:30 p.m.