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Chittick goes wild, Knights rally for win

Tuesday, July, 21 By David Willis

After sitting out the majority of the game with back trouble, North Andover’s Leah Chittick felt something special as she knocked down the first bucket of the fourth quarter.

“Abbie (Karalis) swung me a great pass and I hit a 3-pointer,” said Chittick. “After that basket, I could tell that there was something there. It felt really good.”

That trey kicked off a quarter that saw Chittick explode for 23 of North Andover’s 24 points, leading a 13-0 run on her own to turn the deficit into a 66-52 victory over Stoneham. The Knights had trailed by 6 after three quarters.

“I have seen her have some great games,” said coach Megan Ryan. “But she just went to work tonight. I don’t know if I have ever seen anyone score 23 points in one quarter. She proved tonight that she is a next-level athlete and that she can get the job done.”

The UMass lacrosse recruit scored just five points in limited minutes through the first three quarters due to back pain that has plagued her in recent games.

But when she hit the floor in the fourth, the senior guard was ready to go.

“It started with the three, but I did more of my damage driving to the basket,” she said. “I also got fouled a couple of times and hit some free throws. We were not playing a very good game, so I wanted to do something to get the team going.”

Chittick put the team on her back, starting the quarter on a 13-0 run all on her own. After teammate Nirel Lougbo hit a free throw, Chittick tallied the next eight points.

In the end, the fourth quarter was Chittick 23, Stoneham 4.

“She was really pressuring the ball defensively,” said Ryan. “She was finding lanes and going to the basket. We were moving the ball and she was able to hit some 3-pointers. She just went full tilt and did it all.”

The 28 total points were a season-best, one better than her 27 in a win over Lowell, and one behind her career-high of 29 she scored in a victory over Billerica last season.