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Bishop Fenwick’s Sydney Brennan is coming off a 15-point performance in the Crusaders’ semifinal win over St. Mary’s.
By DILLON DURST
The Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team is riding a ton of momentum into the Division 3 North final. The Crusaders are making their second straight appearance in the final, falling to a powerful Winthrop team in last year’s North final.
They’ll take on top-seeded North Reading (23-2) Saturday at 7 p.m. at Whittier Tech. North Reading may not play in the same league as the Crusaders, but a rivalry is brewing.
To add fuel to the fire going into Saturday’s contest, North Reading knocked the Fenwick soccer team out of the tournament in the D3 North final this past fall with a 2-1 win. Many Fenwick basketball players, including Colleen Corcoran and Mikayla Porcaro, still feel the sting of the losses as members of both the soccer and basketball squads.
The No. 2-seeded Crusaders (20-4) received a first-round bye in the sectional tournament before a 69-32 thumping of seventh-seeded Amesbury in the quarterfinals. Fenwick then defeated rival and No. 3-seed St. Mary’s, 56-40, in the semifinals, completing a three-game season sweep of the Spartans. Senior Sydney Brennan and sophomore Fredi Deguglielmo are both coming off 15-point performances against St. Mary’s.
The top-seeded Hornets defeated No. 8-seed Manchester-Essex, 67-56, in the quarterfinals, before a 69-36 dismantling of No. 4-seed Latin Academy in the semifinals.
The No. 4-seeded Revere girls basketball team will take on No. 2-seed Woburn (21-2) in the D1 North finals Saturday at 3 p.m. at Whittier Tech.
The Patriots (20-5) thumped No. 13-seed Arlington in the first round before defeating fifth-seed Lexington by double-digits in the quarterfinals, as well. Revere added a 60-51 win over top-seeded Lowell in the semifinals to bolster its playoff resume heading into the finals.
Revere sophomore guard Pamela Gonzalez a double-double performance against Lowell in which she scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Junior forward Meaghan Gotham also recorded a double-double performance in the semifinals against Lowell, tallying 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Patriots have also been getting stellar play from guards Ally Hinojosa, Adanna Hector and Maritza Scott.
Woburn defeated No. 15-seed Central Catholic, 56-48, in the first round before a 56-29 whooping of seventh-seeded Chelmsford in the quarterfinals. Woburn then defeated No. 3-seed Billerica, 47-27, in the semifinals.
The No. 2-seed Lynnfield boys basketball team faces fifth-seeded Bedford in the D3 North finals Saturday at 3 p.m. at Woburn.
The Pioneers (19-4) received a first-round bye before defeating No. 10-seed Newburyport, 68-57, in the quarterfinals. Lynnfield then thumped No. 11-seed Saugus in the semifinals, 53-29, to advance to the title game.
Against Saugus, the Pioneers held the Sachems to just 10 points in the second half.
Bedford (16-7) took care of No. 12-seed Northeast Regional in the first round with a 75-50 win, before earning a 55-48 victory over No. 13-seed Arlington Catholic in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Bedford upset top-seeded North Reading, 67-62.