LYNN ? There was no way Cardinal Spellman was going to spoil this party.
The St. Mary’s girls’ basketball team unveiled its Division 3 state championship banner, then went out and routed the Cardinals, 73-36, Friday night, at the Tony Conigliaro Gym.
Spartans’ coach Jeff Newhall was concerned about distractions, but his worries were unfounded. St. Mary’s (3-0) blitzed Spellman with a 17-0 run to open the game, led 26-5 at the end of the first period and was really never threatened.
“Not only did we have (the banner ceremony), we had a half day of school with our Christmas program, so I was worried about whether we’d be focused,” Newhall said. “But the way we played tonight, I didn’t have anything to worry about.”
Temi Falayi led the Spartans with 16 points, while Gianna Moschella added 15 and Kayla Carter had 13. St. Mary’s two dynamic freshmen, Marnelle Garraud and Olivia Nazaire had six points each, but had much more of an impact on the game than their score line shows, especially Garraud.
“For them to step in as freshman and play varsity basketball at the speed that’s required to be as effective as they are is amazing,” Newhall said. “There were a lot of good things to like about this game tonight, and the way we were able to control the pace of the game is one of them.”
Hayley Wardwell led the Cardinals (0-2) with 16 points, while scrappy point guard Kristen Sacchitella added nine.
Four of the five Spartans’ starters scored at least four points each in the dominant run that opened the game, as Spellman was unable to solve St. Mary’s press or keep the Spartans off the offensive glass. Moschella made a pair of free throws off an offensive rebound to give St. Mary’s a 17-0 lead, before Wardwell finally glassed in a jumper from the foul line for Spellman’s first points with 3:23 left in the first quarter.
Two put-back hoops by Falayi in consecutive possessions made the score 26-2 before Noelle Moliere hit a three-pointer over the top of the Spartans’ miserly defense.
The Spartans opened the second quarter with a 10-0 blitz that was capped by a pair of driving layups from Nazaire. Carter’s jumper from the right elbow gave St. Mary’s its largest lead of the first half at 44-9, with 1:10 left in the second quarter.
The lead continued to build throughout the third quarter and peaked at 41 points (61-20) with a Nazaire bucket. Wardwell scored the final seven points of the period for her team. Sayo Falayi scored with 4:32 left in the game to give the Spartans their largest lead of the night at 71-25.
“I realize we’re only three games into the season, but I’m very pleased with the way we’ve played so far,” Newhall said. “It’s a complete game we’re playing at both ends of the floor.”The pregame ceremony for the 2013-14 Division 3 state championship included Moschella, Sophia Holmes and Carter, three returning players from last year’s team, and Jennie Mucciarone, who is now a freshman playing basketball at Tufts. The Spartans defeated Winthrop in the sectional final before beating Catholic Central League rival Archbishop Williams in an epic state semifinal. They then routed Hoosac in the final to capture the title.