LYNNFIELD’S BELLA George had 11 points in the Pioneers’ 41-37 win over Melrose, which punched their ticket to playoffs. (Grace Gentile photo)

 

By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI

LYNNFIELD — Last Saturday afternoon, the Lynnfield High girls’ basketball team came up huge in their regular-season finale as they beat visiting Melrose, 41-37, in a non-league game. That win punched the Pioneers ticket into the MIAA Division 3 state tournament after the team just missed qualifying by one win last year.

The fourth quarter was a memorable one as they outscored Melrose, 14-6, to complete the comeback.

Lynnfield trailed most of the day as they were down, 11-7, after the first quarter and, 26-15, at the break. The Pioneers were able to cut the lead to four (31-27) after the third quarter.

With the victory, the Pioneers ended up at 9-11 overall as they snapped their two-game losing streak. Melrose (7-13) is one division (Div. 2) higher than the Pioneers.

“We had a great second half,” stated Pioneers head coach Sue Breen. “We went to a three-quarter press defense that allowed us to get turnovers and led to some easy baskets,”

Bella George led the Pioneers in scoring with 11 points while Jaelynn Moon recorded her fourth double-double of the season with ten points and ten rebounds. Moon also had four steals and three assists.

Erika Pasquale also had a solid performance with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and a team-high five steals.

In their final Cape Ann League game of the year on Feb. 14, Lynnfield fell at Newburyport, 64-27, as the Clippers were able to compete the season sweep.

Lynnfield ended up a 4-9 in the CAL and ended up in fourth place in the CAL Kinney division. Newburyport ended up winning the CAL Kinney title going 12-1 as they improved to 16-1 overall.

The host was in command from the start as they led, 38-15, at the half.

“They are the best team in the league,” stated Breen about the Division 2 Clippers. “They have three all-league players and they play very good defense.”

Pasquale led Lynnfield in scoring (nine), rebounds (seven) and assists (three). George chipped in seven points while Moon added four.

Emma Foley led the Clippers with a game-high 21 points while Deirdre McElhinney added 15.

On Feb. 25, the Pioneers will find out who they will open up with in the first round of the states that will start next week. The final MIAA Div. 3 power rankings will come out later this week.