After press time:
North Reading defeats Newburyport 33-29 (Feb. 19)
READING — On Feb. 13, the NRHS girls’ basketball team celebrated Senior Night with a 51-22 victory over the Essex Tech Hawks.
The pregame ceremony honored the contributions of the two seniors in the program, manager Alex Sfikas and captain Grace Higgins.
The game action following the ceremony saw a competitive first quarter with North Reading taking a 9-6 lead after one quarter. A stifling defensive second quarter by the Hornets held the Hawks scoreless and led to a 22-6 halftime advantage from which North Reading never looked back.
Leading the way for the Hornets were Sophia Gallivan with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Ariana Demetri added 12 points (4 3-pointers) and 3 steals. Forwards Makenzie Murphy (5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks), Addie Hajj (4 points, 6 rebounds) and Hannah Frew (6 points) dominated the paint all night.
In a non-league rematch with the Stoneham Spartans on Tuesday night, the Hornets found themselves trailing at halftime 27-24 after an up and down the court first half that saw plenty of offense from both teams. The Stoneham press and the their ability to break through the North Reading full court defense was giving the Hornets trouble.
A couple of halftime adjustments on the press break and the defense saw North Reading control the second half with a 21-8 advantage on route to a 45-35 come-from-behind win.
Demetri lead the way on offense with 12 points and 8 rebounds in a balanced attack that also saw 8 points each from Gallivan (10 rebounds, 5 assists), Kiersten Higgins (2 assists, 4 rebiounds) and Murphy (2 rebounds). Hajj (2 points, 6 rebounds) and Frew (5 points, 2 rebounds) were admirable in battling the bigger Stoneham center, holding her to only 7 points.
North Reading’s second half defense was stifling, only allowing 8 points over 16 minutes of action.
“The girls really locked in and played connected not allowing anyone to take an easy, open shot,” said head coach Bob Romeo. “That has been our calling card all season and tonight it was how we were able to come back and grind out a win.”
The Hornets (16-3) finished the regular season on Wednesday with a road game at Newburyport (after press time) and then will await the MIAA Tournament pairings which will be released on Saturday.
North Reading is currently ranked No. 13 in Div. 3 which would mean a first round game at home, likely sometime next week.