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Temi Falayi led the way as the Spartans defeated Fenwick, 49-44.
By HAROLD RIVERA
PEABODY — When the St. Mary’s and Bishop Fenwick girls basketball teams meet, a close game is usually in the cards. That was the result Friday night at Fenwick as the Spartans fought off a late Crusaders surge to notch a 49-44 win.
“We gutted it out,” St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall said. “We made a lot of mistakes in that second half and that’s to Fenwick’s credit. They applied some serious pressure to our guards, we had trouble getting into what we wanted to get into.”
Crusaders coach Adam DeBaggis was proud of his group’s effort. Every time it seemed as though St. Mary’s would pull away, Fenwick found a way to claw back in.
“I thought we played unbelievable defense towards the end,” DeBaggis said. “This shows that we have heart. We really gutted that one out for a while, which we haven’t sometimes earlier this year, so I was happy to see that.”
The opening quarter featured sloppy play from both teams. St. Mary’s and Fenwick each committed turnovers and missed a number of free throw attempts, but the slight edge belonged to the Spartans at 10-8. Temi Falayi and Olivia Nazaire each scored four points for the Spartans in the quarter.
Falayi, who finished with 19 points, earned her coach’s praise after the win
“I thought she (Falayi) was the best player on the court tonight, on both ends,” Newhall said. “She scored, she blocked shots, she rebounded the ball, broke their press. We couldn’t have gotten much more from her.”
In the second quarter, Falayi and Nazaire each hit a pair of free throws to give the Spartans a 19-12 advantage with three and a half minutes to play. Fenwick answered with a 6-3 run but Christina Nowicki retaliated with a three-pointer to put St. Mary’s ahead, 25-18. That’s how it stood at the half.
Nazaire hit a hook shot on the opening possession of the third quarter, giving the Spartans a 27-18 cushion. With Fenwick down nine points, and the Spartans finding their rhythm, Sam Mancinelli and Jaxson Nadeau took center stage.
With three and a half minutes remaining in the period, Mancinelli made a pair of free throws to slim the deficit to three points at 30-27. Nadeau followed her teammate’s lead with a three-point play to tie the game at 30-30. St. Mary’s led 33-30 at the end of the third.
“We played with great heart and intensity,” DeBaggis said. “We just didn’t hit enough shots. We had a couple good looks that went in and out. We know we can play with them. They’re in our division so we’ll probably see them again. I thought both teams played hard.”
Three minutes into the final quarter, Gaby Torres knocked home a three to give the Spartans a 38-32 lead. The Crusaders trailed for the majority of the quarter but things began to turn in their favor in the final two minutes.
Mancinelli drained a three to make it a two-point game at 42-40, and sunk two free throws to tie the game, 42-42, with a minute and a half remaining.
“Usually when you’re leading the entire time and they tie it with a minute left, things don’t go well,” Newhall said. “Overall, this league’s great. It’s tough to win on the road.”
After the teams exchanged buckets, Torres swished another three-pointer to put St. Mary’s ahead 47-44. With 3.6 seconds to play, Falayi nailed a pair of freebies and the Spartans hung on for the win, 49-44.
Nazaire scored 18 points for St. Mary’s, while Torres added six.
For Fenwick, Mancinelli led the way with 23 points and Nadeau finished with 15.
“This is one of the best leagues in the state,” DeBaggis said. “We lose a game like this and that’s better than some other teams winning a game. This was tournament atmosphere.”
Both teams return to action on Sunday when St. Mary’s (13-7) hosts Coyle-Cassidy in the Spartan Classic tournament and Fenwick (13-7) clashes against Masco.
Before the game, Fenwick honored its three seniors, Mancinelli, Sam Gulla and Camille Tache, as part of the team’s senior night.