Published February 19, 2020
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
AVA BUONFIGLIO and the Pioneers closed the regular season on a nine-game winning streak. Rankings for the Div. 3 North tournament will be announced Friday on miaa.net. The Pioneers are projected to be seeded fifth or sixth. (File Photo)
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High girls’ basketball team ended its regular season in style with a 44-34 win in Newburyport on Feb. 13. Not only did the Pioneers sweep the Clippers with the win, but they also won their ninth game in a row.
“We got off to a 10-0 start and our defense rocked in that first half,” said Lynnfield head coach Peter Bocchino.
Lynnfield led 30-15 at the half and the Clippers were never able to climb back in the second half.
Cate MacDonald led the Pioneers in scoring with 16 points and she also had seven rebounds. Victoria Morelli led the team in rebounds with eight and she was second in scoring with 10 points.
Caroline Waisnor and Riley Hallahan both chipped in eight points.
Lynnfield finished the year at 13-6 overall and 10-5 in the Cape Ann League. They finished tied with Masconomet for second place in the CAL Kinney division as Pentucket was first.
On Feb. 11, the Pioneers bested visiting Hamilton-Wenham 56-47. This game was knotted at 30 at halftime as Lynnfield outscored the Generals in the second half 26-17.
“They gave us a fight in the first half,” admitted Bocchino. “We made some defensive adjustments in the second half and that was the difference.”
Melissa Morelli led the team in scoring with 14 points and she also had seven boards. Victoria Morelli, Grace Klonsky, MacDonald and Hallahan all scored nine point each.
The seedings will be coming out for the Division 3 state tournament on Friday. Bocchino is hoping his squad can get a first-round home game.
The tournament will start next week.
