Central rally falls short against unbeaten Lynn English
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Sunday, March, 09
By Bill Burt
Division 1 North Final
LOWELL — In another year, Central Catholic probably would have got
onto the bus back to school last night as Division 1 North champs.
The senior-laden Raiders roared back from a 27-12 deficit against an
undefeated team and eventually got the lead at 43-42 following a
three-point play by its best player last night, senior Amanda Williams.
The problem was Lynn English’s best player, Catherine Stinson, scored
five of her game-high 25 points to help end defending state champion
Central’s season last night, 52-49.
“I knew Central was going to come back. They always come back,” said
Stinson. “That is one tough team. They’ve experienced winning (a state
title) ... But we’re hungry, too.”
Central appeared to be playing the Merrimack Valley Conference card, as
soon as the game started, running off five straight points and holding
Lynn English scoreless for nearly four minutes.
But then Lynn English (25-0) showed its “undefeated” self running off 14
straight points, coupled with two fouls on Central’s star guard,
Courtney Walsh, as the quarter ended.
Central was a mess, falling behind by 15 points when coach Sue Downer called a timeout.
“I just told them we had to keep fighting,” said Downer, whose team
finishes 21-2 a year after winning the state title. “We were giving up
too many easy offensive rebounds and putbacks. We just needed to play
tougher, box out and settle down.”
Central’s comeback was not immediate. It was more methodical. Four
3-pointers, two by Alex Nagri and Walsh, with Williams becoming more of a
force down low. Central got the lead on three occasions, the last of
which was on Caitlin Dell’Orfano’s 3-pointer (48-46) with 3:30 left in
the game.
But that was Central’s last stand. Central turned the ball over five
times in its last six possessions and was able to get only one free
throw the rest of the way.
Central had the ball with 11.5 seconds remaining in the game but
couldn’t get off a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
The loss ended an incredible four years for Nagri, Walsh, Dell’Orfano
and Williams, who scored 47 of Central’s 49 points. All four played
varsity from Day 1 at Central.
“That’s the hard part, thinking about this being the end for those
incredible young women,” said Downer. “They all fought until the end and
with a few breaks could be playing (at the TD Garden) on Monday.”
Nagri, who is expected to be a point guard at Suffolk University next
year, had one of her best games of her career during crunch time,
hitting all of her 3-pointers in the second half.
“We really wanted this. We didn’t want it to end this way,” said Nagri
“I am so proud of every senior. We are very close and have been through a
lot. We just ran into a team that wanted it as much as we did. Lynn
English was for real.”
Game Statistics:
Lynn English 52, Central Catholic 49
Division 1 North Final
Central (49): Courtney Walsh 4-2-12, Alex Nagri 4-0-11, Amanda Williams 6-2-14, Natasha Santana 1-0-2, Caitlin Dell’Orfano 3-1-8, Totaas 18-5-49
Lynn English (52): Diondra Woumn 5-1-11, Devinya Robinson 0-0—0, Catherine Stinson 8-6-25, Makayla Everette 4-0-8, Deidra Newson 2-4-8, Totals 19-10-52
Central (21-2) 5-13-20-11—49
Lynn English (25-0) 14-15-11-12—52
3-pointers: CC — Nagri 3, Walsh 2, Dell’Orfano; LE — Stinson 3, Woumn
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