Revere girls basketball fends off challenge by Danvers in Massachusetts

Great teams find a way to win, however trying the circumstances may be.

Despite hitting just two of 22 3-point attempts and having to endure a career outing by Danvers' Kellie Macdonald, the Revere girls basketball team remained undefeated last Thursday night. Revere, rated No. 6 in the MaxPreps.com Freeman Rankings for Massachusetts, rallied from six points down on the road in the final period and beat Northeast Conference rival Danvers, 50-46.

If it hadn't been for the 48-22 rebounding advantage gained by Revere (14-0) and a few key Danvers turnovers in the end, who knows what would have happened. Of those 48 rebounds by the Patriots, 21 were taken down on offense.

"We stepped (the rebounding) up after halftime," Revere forward Morgan Jenkins told the Boston Herald. "We had our fix of mistakes and (rebounding) turned everything around."

Jenkins, who will play at Division II St. Michael's next season, finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds. She was challenged throughout the evening by Macdonald, who registered 26 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks in a signature performance.

"(Macdonald) played really well; great players rise to the occasion and she did," Revere coach Diana DeCristoforo told the Salem Evening News.

Macdonald scored six straight points to open the fourth quarter for Danvers (11-3), establishing a 42-36 lead for the Falcons.

Marisa Parent (13 points, five steals) cut the Revere deficit to three points, and Gena Restiano (13 points) tied the game by nailing one of Revere's only two 3-pointers of the night.

The game was still tied at 46 with less than a minute to play before Revere took the lead for good at 48-46.

"It's all you could ever want out of your team," Danvers coach Pat Veilleux said. "Honestly, it was one of the most fantastic games to coach. I didn't know what to expect tonight, whether we'd be intimidated or not (by Revere). I think we showed we can play with teams like that."



UNDEFEATED BY COMMITTEE
Reading Memorial, like Revere, is undefeated, but the Rockets don't rely on a star player quite the way that Revere does with Jenkins. Instead, they do it with players who can put up big numbers at just about any time.

"I don't even know how many points a game each girl averages," Reading coach Kim Penney told the Boston Herald. "And I don't think they care, either."

Fourth-ranked Reading (15-0) also runs the floor and its offense by committee in lieu of having a definitive point guard. After senior center Carlene Kluge, a Bentley recruit, all four starters handle the ball with equal aplomb.

"I think that's one reason why we're difficult to defend, " said Penney, "along with the fact that we have some size in the lineup."

Besides the 6-foot Kluge in the middle, Reading features co-captain and guard Melissa Dalpozzo (5-foot-11), and 5-foot-11 sophomores Olivia Healy and Morgan O'Brien. Healy averages 18 points a game to lead the team.

A year ago, Reading went 18-4 and reached the semifinals of the MIAA Division 2 North playoffs before losing to Arlington Catholic, 57-36. The Rockets did it without DalPozzo, who missed virtually the entire season with a knee injury.



"It's really a great group of kids to coach," said Penney. "They're having fun, but they're committed to see how far they can go."

A DAY TO REMEMBER AT ST. BERNARD
John Henault scored a game-high 32 points and became the St. Bernard's Central Catholic (Fitchburg) all-time leader scorer with 1,457 points in a 62-50 victory against Leominster in Fitchburg.

Henault, a 6-foot-2 senior who also had 12 rebounds in the game, needed 31 points to break the old mark of 1,455, set by James Maloughney. He did it in the final second eight seconds of the game by hitting a free throw, setting off an emotional celebration that included his older brother, Tim, a one-time 1,000-point scorer at St. Bernard's.

"It's just incredible; it's a great feeling," Henault told the Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise. "I'm proud that I've accomplished this, but I couldn't do this without my friends, coaches, family and teammates."

For St. Bernard's 16th-year coach, Mark Pierce, the occasion marked the third time in his tenure he has seen the school's scoring record broken.

"I've been fortunate to see it a few times," Pierce said. "(Josh) Ferreiras when he broke Gerry Flynn's mark, and Maloughney to break Ferreiras' mark. But to see it a third time with John is indescribable. Some coaches don't see that at all, and I've been fortunate enough over the years to see a bunch of guys in the 1,000-point club and (surpass) the all-time leading scorer. So it's been a special thing."



MANCHESTER ESSEX PULLS OFF ANOTHER UPSET
Three weeks after beating Cape Ann League power North Andover for the first time in three years, the Manchester Essex boys basketball team raised some more eyes as it knocked off league-leading and 17th-ranked Wilmington on the road, 92-85.

As in the win over North Andover, this one was led by the standout duo of Amherst recruit Joe Mussachia (31 points, 22 rebounds) and junior guard Sean Nalley (24 points, 10 assists, six 3-pointers).

The 6-foot-6 senior guard Mussachia passed up a variety of college scholarship offers to commit to the nationally prominent Division III program of veteran Amherst coach Dave Hixon.

"It was a huge victory to beat a highly ranked state team that hadn't lost a game in the Cape Ann League," Manchester Essex coach Duane Sigsbury told the Boston Globe. "We're just excited to have played well. Being one of the smallest schools in the Cape Ann League makes this a huge feat for us.

"In my eyes," Sigsbury added, "(Mussachia) is a dream-teamer. He does unbelievable things for us and battles diabetes and never complains. He's taken his game to another level this year."

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}MILESTONES OF NOTE
* Stoughton's 5-foot-9 senior guard, Kris Joyce, topped the 1,000-point mark for his career on Saturday in a 77-52 win over Foxborough, hitting four straight 3-pointers in the first half to do so.

* Corey Pryor of Northbridge topped 1,000 points for his career in helping his team defeat Grafton, 52-37. Senior guard Jake Ratcliffe added nine points and 10 rebounds for Northbridge.

* Johnny Norton of Bethany Christian scored a game-high 18 points in a 46-32 loss at Abby Kelley, and reached the 1,000-point mark. The only other Eagles' player to hit 1,000 points has been Brendan Morais, the brother of head coach Dan Morais. Sophomore Kwesi Ewusi had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Abby Kelley.

* Amy Pelletier, a four-year starter at Bishop Fenwick, scored 16 points and reached 1,000 for her career in a 57-50 win against Wilmington. Pelletier averages 17.6 points per game for coach Tim Harrington. Senior Forward Sarah James scored 17.

* Littleton's Meg Wodzinski needed 17 points to hit 1,000 for her career and scored a game-high 20, leading the Tigers last Bromfield, 56-31.

* Brianna Del Valle scored her 1,000th career point Thursday night, finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds in Belchertown's 44-42 win over host Cathedral.

PERFORMANCES OF NOTE
* Sophomore 6-foot forward Casey McLaughlin scored 25 points in helping the Central Catholic girls (15-2) hand top-ranked Andover its first loss, 61-57, in Merrimack Valley Conference play.

* Millbury, the No. 1-ranked girls team in Central Massachusetts, improved to 15-0 by jumping out to a 23-point lead in the second quarter and beating No. 3 Northbridge, 52-41. Millbury received 18 points from Julie Frankian, who recently became the school's all-time scoring leader.

* Sophomore guard Tajanay Veiga-Lee of Fenway notched her third triple-double of the season, recording 12 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists in her undefeated team's 71-31 win over Snowden in Boston City League play.

*East Bridgewater's Jess Jezard recorded 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in the Vikings' 43-41 win over Rockland.

* Senior co-captain and guard Kayla Hatch registered 23 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and three steals to lead Douglas past Grafton, 44-38.

* Newton North (Newtonville) (11-4) beat Brockton (9-4) for the first time since 2006 with a 62-49 victory on Sunday as freshman Aaron Falzon (16 points, seven rebounds) and junior Luke Westman (11 points, 10 rebounds) led the way.

* Johnson Thomas had 24 points and 20 rebounds in Somerville's 76-68 win against Medford.

ON TAP THIS WEEK
Brenna Gonsalves of No. 8 Coyle & Cassidy (Taunton) goes for the school's all-time scoring record of 1,397 points on Tuesday night against Bishop Stang. The 5-foot-9 swing player averages 19.6 a game and needs only 12 points to achieve the mark presently held by Eric Ferris.

Jim Stout is the CBS MaxPreps Media Manager for the Eastern U.S. He may be reached at 845-367-2864 or at jim.stout@cbsinteractive.com.