FILE PHOTO
Juliana Passatempo (right) suffered an injury midway through Monday’s game, and had to leave court for stitches.
By TREVOR WENNERS
LYNNFIELD – Coaches usually refrain from labeling defeats as moral losses. That may be a wise decision, but those who watched the Lynnfield High School girls basketball team on Monday afternoon know that coach James Perry’s program is heading in the right direction.
Elizabeth Shaievitz continues to shine for the Pioneers (0-9), as she tallied a game-high 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, but visiting Ipswich claimed a 55-50 win on Monday.
“This was a solid performance for us tonight,” Perry said. “The two things that kill us are turnovers and missed shots underneath the basket. I am happy with this performance. I am not happy that we lost. We just scored 50 points, which is a high-water mark for us this year, so we can build off that.”
The Pioneers responded with an impressive 8-0 run to end the first. Shaievitz drilled a jump shot, Juliana Passatempo buried a runner and Melissa Morelli (nine points) scored the final four points of the quarter, giving Lynnfield an 11-10 advantage heading into the second.
“This (game) was a momentum swing,” Perry said. “The more important thing is that our players feel it. They were competitive tonight. They were actually winning for most of that game so these are things we can build on for next game.”
The Pioneers continued to cruise in the second, extending their run to 14-0 on a 3-pointer by Shaievitz, assisted by Passatempo, which gave the hosts a 17-10 lead with 6:35 left in the half.
The Tigers trimmed the Pioneers’ advantage to 17-13 with 4:05 left in the half, but Sophia Ellis made an impact off the bench for the Pioneers. Ellis drove the ball hard to her right, absorbing contact and finishing at the hoop. The forward went 2-for-2 from the charity strike with 3:23 left, giving Lynnfield a 21-15 lead.
The Tigers, who were led by a 17-point performance by Katherine Noftall and 15 points from Anna Davis, claimed a 24-23 lead with 42.3 seconds left in the half, but Melissa Morelli’s buzzer-beating jumper from the right baseline gave Lynnfield a 26-24 edge at halftime.
The Pioneers’ spirits should have been high going into intermission with a lead on their home court, but in the final moments of the first half they saw their on-court general, Passatempo, leave the game after an elbow to the head. Passatempo, who needed stitches, was unable to return in the second half, and the Pioneers offense struggled.
“Down the stretch, absolutely we missed Juliana,” Perry said. “I was telling Coach Peter (Bocchino), we really missed her in the fourth because she is a good general on the floor. She places the ball well.”
Ipswich opened the third on a 6-0 spurt, as a layup by Noftall gave them a 30-26 lead with six minutes left.
Victoria Morelli responded with a three-point play for the Pioneers. Shaievitz then buried a jumper and the Pioneers led, 31-30, with 5:06 remaining.
Ipswich looked to take command in the third, staking a 43-32 lead with 1:50 left.
The Pioneers scored the final five points of the frame. Shaievitz drilled a buzzer-beating three-ball at the end of the third, trimming the Tigers’ advantage to 43-37.
Mackenzie O’Neill scored a layup off an offensive rebound to cut the deficit to 43-39 with 7:20 left. The Pioneers were not able to get any closer in the fourth.
“We scored 50 points despite all the shots that we missed,” Perry said. “We should have been around 65 points. This is a game that we should have won if we were able to hit all the soft shots that we missed.”
Lynnfield next visits Manchester Essex Regional High School on Friday night.