NORTH READING — The North Reading girls’ basketball team improved to an overall record of 6-4 with a pair of wins over Georgetown and Amesbury sandwiched around a close loss at league leader Pentucket.
On Jan. 9, the Hornets traveled to Georgetown to face a league-leading Royals squad. In a hard-fought contest, the Hornets came away with a well-earned 44-38 win. North Reading held a slim 26-22 lead at halftime and extended the lead to 37-27 after three quarters and held on in the fourth for the win.
Leading the way were senior captain Bella Cannalonga (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), freshman Sophie Gallivan (11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) and freshman Ariana Demetri (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists). Senior captain Maggie Schulz filled up the stat sheet with 5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 6 deflections.
On Friday night, the girls traveled to first place and undefeated CAL team Pentucket’s gym. North Reading continued their hard-nosed play and battled the Panthers for all 32 minutes. The Hornets led by two after the first quarter and by one at halftime. Pentucket used a strong third quarter to take a 5 point lead into the final frame where they opened up an 11-point lead, 45-34, with 3 minutes remaining before the Hornets stormed all the way back to trail 46-44 with 4 seconds remaining and possession of the ball out of bounds in their offensive end. A last second attempt to tie the game did not go in.
Senior captain Caitlin Reilly led the way with 18 points, connecting on 5 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Sophomore Allie Lanciani (5 points, 9 rebounds) and Schulz (6 points, 5 rebounds) were outstanding all night as well. Cannalonga handled the Pentucket full court press all night collecting 4 points and 2 assists.
“While the result may have been disappointing the effort and refusal to go away was a big statement by the girls,” said head coach Bob Romeo. “It is a game we will build upon going forward.”
Playing an MLK Day afternoon at home, the Hornets bounced back with a dominating 53-26 win over Amesbury. A 15-2 run to close out the second quarter opened a comfortable 29-9 halftime lead.
Gallivan led the way with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals in an all-around strong effort. Cannalonga (12 points, 3 steals), Schulz (10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) and sophomore Kiersten Higgins (8 points, 5 rebounds) provided plenty of support in a strong team effort.
“After three straight extremely close games, it was good to be able to build an early lead and earn a more comfortable win while getting everyone into the game,” said Romeo.
North Reading will host Essex Tech this Friday night at 6:30 p.m. for Teacher Appreciation Night.