ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Irianis Delgado snags a rebound out of the hands of Everett’s Carolann Cardinale.
By KATIE MORRISON
LYNN — Free throws may not be the most exciting part of any basketball game, but in the Classical girls basketball team’s win over Everett Tuesday night, they were crucial.
The Rams went 16-for-28 at the line and held off a second-half surge from the Crimson Tide to lock up a 41-36 win at home in the team’s season opener.
“Last year, when (Everett) beat us here, they beat us at the foul line, they hit all of their shots,” Classical coach Tom Sawyer said. “We were 16-for-28, which isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible, and they only got five.”
Everything was going the Rams’ way in the first half. Paris Wilkey netted nine points, including two of three free throws, and Tyarah Horton sunk a layup to give Classical an 11-6 lead after a quarter.
Wilkey went to the line eight more times in the second quarter, sinking five free throws. But just as important was the fact that the Rams held the Crimson Tide to just four points in the second quarter, and went into the half up 24-10.
Everett came out hot in the second half. The game’s play was more up-tempo and sloppier, with both teams making bad passes and giving up possessions on turnovers. The Rams scored eight points in the quarter, with five coming from Wilkey and three coming on free throws. Everett got as close as nine points (29-20) in the quarter, but Classical still maintained a 31-21 lead heading into the fourth.
Soneta Srey wasn’t much of a scoring threat through the first three quarters (though she was big on the boards; she pulled down 12 rebounds on the night), but the senior forward came alive in the fourth quarter as Wilkey started getting less looks and more opportunities opened up for other players. Srey went 3-for-5 at the line and added two more layups in the fourth quarter, and those points proved to be critical.
“When the game is getting tight in the fourth, she scores seven points, which is huge,” Sawyer said. “(Everett) kept coming and coming. Those hoops are huge to keep them at bay.”
The Crimson Tide played tight defense on Classical throughout the night, but stepped it up a notch in the fourth quarter, employing a full-court press on every Rams possession. Jacquelin Emmanuel led the charge for Everett late, as she forced turnovers and converted them into points. All of a sudden, Everett was within six points at 37-31 with two minutes to play.
Srey nailed two free throws and then Priscill Alouidor forced a turnover on Everett’s next possession, but Emmanuel stole it right back and took it to the hoop for an easy layup.
Srey sunk one more free throw and Emmanuel drained another three with 12 seconds to play, but Classical held off the Crimson Tide as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
“Everett is a good team, they’re not going to go away, they played tough,” Sawyer said. “We made some mistakes. My criticism is too many turnovers. Too many careless passes. We’ve got to value the basketball more, and instead of scoring 41 we might score 51 and have a little more of a comfortable margin.”
Wilkey finished the game with 23 points and six rebounds, while Srey netted eight points. Horton, Chloe Kebreau, Jeylly Medrano and Irianis Delgado chipped in with three points apiece.
Katie Morrison can be reached at [email protected].