After press time: Lynnfield falls to Newburyport 51-50 (Feb 14)
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — On Sunday afternoon, the Lynnfield High girls’ basketball team lost to Waltham at home, 44-27, in a non-league game.
With the defeat, the Pioneers record dipped to 6-10 overall. The Hawks, meanwhile, improved to 4-11.
Waltham is two divisions higher than Lynnfield as they are a Division 1 school while the Pioneers are in Division 3.
“It was like the game at Ipswich last week as we struggled offensively,” admitted Pioneers head coach Sue Breen.
The Hawks led this one 28-12 at the half as Lynnfield was never able to cut the lead into single digits in the second half.
Freshman Hayden Valiton led the Pioneers in scoring with 15 points while her sister, Taylor, and Ava Gamache both had 9 rebounds.
On Feb. 8, the Pioneers beat Essex Tech, 45-42, in overtime at home. That win gave the Pioneers a mark of 5-8 in the Cape Ann League.
Things looked grim heading into the fourth quarter as Lynnfield trailed, 37-25. However, LHS went on a 14-0 run to start to fourth to take the lead.
The game went into the overtime session knotted at 39.
“We showed a lot of grit and determination,” stated Breen, whose squad trailed 29-19 at the half. “We also hit some key free throws late.”
Emma Rose had a season-high 16 points while Hayden Valiton had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Taylor Valiton also had a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.
The Pioneers were able to complete the season sweep over the CAL newcomers as they edged the Hawks, 34-32, in the first meeting back on Jan. 5 in Danvers.
On Feb. 5, the Pioneers lost at Ipswich 49-30.
Lynnfield hung around for a half as they only trailed by one (18-17) at the break. However, the Tigers turned it up in the second half outscoring the Pioneers, 31-13.
Freshman, Maeve Wertz, led the team in scoring with seven points while Taylor Valiton had six points and five boards.
Faith Angelo had a team-high seven rebounds to go with five points while Rose had five points and led the team in assists with five.
The Pioneer defense had no answers for Lucy Donahue who had 29 points.
On Feb. 15, the Pioneers visit Triton at 5:30 p.m. trying to get a split of the season series as the Vikings won, 54-41, back on Jan. 19.
Lynnfield then wraps up the regular season on Feb. 20 as they visit non-league Shawsheen Tech in Billerica. Tip-off is at 12:30 p.m.
The Pioneers beat the Rams, 41-14, in the first matchup back on Jan. 9.
Lynnfield entered this week ranked No. 38 in the MIAA Division 3 power rankings. Only the top 32 teams automatically qualify for the tournament, regardless of record.