RallyNorth.net

Wed, Dec 27, 2017 07:45 PM @ Central Catholic

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Pentucket	12	11	12	7	42
Central Catholic	13	12	8	8	41

Final-second heroics lift Sachems past Central

Wednesday, December, 27 By Kyle Gaudette
Staff writer

LAWRENCE - Pentucket's Liv Cross had watched teammate Casey Hunt drive to the basket all game.

But not in the closing seconds of Wednesday's Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic first round game against Central Catholic with her Sachems down by one, 41-40.

Ready to crash the boards off a miss, Cross ran to her spot along the baseline under the hoop as Hunt drove into the paint. But instead of lifting a floater, Hunt threaded a beautiful bounce pass through two defenders to a wide-open Cross who banked in the layup with 13 seconds left.

No. 3 Central's last-second attempt hit the back iron, and No. 6 Pentucket came away with the 42-41 victory to advance to the tournament semifinals.

"It goes so fast, it's crazy," said Cross, a junior whose Sachems moved to 3-0. "(The final play) wasn't drawn up for me. It was just a good pass from Casey. Just a good basketball play."

Host Central (1-2) had tied the game at 40-40 with just over a minute left when junior Kaylee Thomas (10 points) hit two free throws. Then after a stop, Kaitlyn Quinn hit a free throw to give the Raiders the lead.

"The kids made a great play," said Pentucket coach John McNamara. "They executed, which is tough to do on the last possession of the game. But we got a great look and we finished."

Cross finished the game with 10 points and five rebounds.

Just a sophomore, Hunt led all scores with 17 points and also grabbed five rebounds. She is picking up right where she left off after an All-CAL season as a freshman a year ago.

"This is what we expect from Casey," said McNamara. "We want her to take it to the hoop and run our offense, play defense and she did all of that tonight. She played a great game."

Emily Downer led Central with 11 points and Quinn also added 10 points. The Raiders will play No. 7 Winnacunnet in the consolation round today at 4:15 p.m.

After losing in the first round of last year's tournament, Pentucket gets another prime-time game against No. 2 Westford in the semis today at 7:45 p.m.

 

 

Pentucket 42, Central Catholic 41

Commonwealth Classic First Round

Petucket (42): Angelina Yacubacci 0 0-0 0, Maddie Doyle 1 2-3 5, Casey Hunt 7 2-4 17, Bella Doyle 0 2-2 2, Liv Cross 3 4-6 10, Jess Galvin 1 0-1 3, Angelica Hurley 2 1-2 5, Emily Riley 0 0-0 0, Sarah Kern 0 0-0 0, Arielle Cleveland 0 0-0 0, Anna Wyner 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 11-18 42

Central Catholic (41): Ava Bradley 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Thomas 3 2-2 10, Kaitlyn Quinn 3 3-6 10, Emily Downer 1 8-8 11, Katie Kirsch 0 0-0 0, Maura Smith 1 2-2 4, Adrianna Niles 2 0-0 4, Nadeshka Bridgewater 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 15-18 41

3-pointers: P - M. Doyle, Hunt, Galvin; CC - Thomas 2, Quinn, Downer

Pentucket (3-0):     12 11 12 7 - 42

Central Catholic (1-2):     13 12  8 8 - 41