EASY LAYUP. Hornet junior Carly Swartz adds two points in the win for North Reading. (Bob Turosz Photo)
By DAN NUNN
Comeback falls short in OT loss to Vikings
NORTH READING — The Lady Hornets’ comeback from 17 points down fell short in their 52-48 home loss to the Triton Vikings on February 5.
Junior Jess Lezon was impressive with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Sophomore Katerina Hassapis was the only other Hornet in double figures with 17 points.
Both offenses got off to a slow start in the first quarter. The Vikings took an early 5-2 lead, but North Reading fought back to take a one-point lead at the 2:44 mark. However, Triton retook the lead, 12-9, by the end of the quarter.
Just 12 seconds into the second quarter, Hassapis drained a three to tie the score. But unfortunately the Vikings responded, closing the half on a 16-5 run to take a 28-17 halftime lead.
Triton led by as much as 17 in the third quarter and took a 39-25 lead into the fourth. The Hornets stormed back in the fourth quarter. They opened the quarter on a 12-1 run and found themselves only down 40-37 with 2:21 left.
Hassapis nails 3 to force OT
With the seconds ticking down the Hornets still found themselves trailing by three. But with three seconds left Hassapis nailed a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime.
The Hornets jumped out to a 47-43 lead to start the extra frame. But they couldn’t close out the Vikings, who closed the game on a 9-1 run and escaped with 52-48 win.
Generals retreat, 43-25
The Hornets qualified for the state tournament for the fourth straight season with their 43-25 victory over the Hamilton-Wenham Generals last Friday night.
Jess Lezon led the way with another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Senior captain Frankie Elliott scored 12 points and had nine rebounds.
There wasn’t much offense in the first quarter. The Hornets’ defense held the Generals to no field goals in the quarter and North Reading led 9-1 at the end of the first.
Hamilton-Wenham’s first basket didn’t come until the 6:50 mark of the second quarter and the Hornets led 16-5 at 5:29. North Reading executed slightly better on the offensive end and took a 22-14 halftime lead.
The lead was extended in the third quarter. At the 3:02 mark the difference was 14 points, 33-19. By the start of fourth the score was 35-21 Hornets.
North Reading led by as much as 20 in the final quarter and coasted to the 43-25 victory.
Upcoming games
The victory over the Generals gave North Reading its 10th win of the season to qualify the team for the state tournament. Their record stands at 10-5 overall and 8-4 in the Cape Ann League Kinney large division where they held on to third place.
The Lady Hornets hosted the Lady Tigers Wednesday night (after press time) in a game originally scheduled during the Jan. 27 blizzard.
The team’s final two games of the regular season will be played on the road starting with Pentucket on Friday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Sachems have won the CAL Kinney division title with an undefeated league record of 13-0 and have an overall record of 15-1.
The final regular season game will be played at Masconomet next Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. This is a make-up game originally slated to be played on Tuesday. Masconomet is currently one game ahead of North Reading in the league standings at 9-4 and has an overall record of 12-3.
