Published January 3, 2019
EVERETT — The NRHS girls’ basketball team went 1-1 at the Pope John Holiday Tournament in Everett this past weekend.
The Hornets beat Winthrop, 68-51 in the preliminary round on Dec. 27 to improve their record to 3-1. Sophomore Julia Howse had a monster game with 25 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.
ALLIE GRASSO (3), Julia Howse (33) and the Hornets beat Winthrop in the preliminary round of the Pope John Holiday Tournament and are now 3-2 as they restart their CAL campaign at home on Friday night against Triton at 7 p.m. (John Friberg Photo)
In the finals, North Reading lost a nail-biter to Pope John 56-52. Captain Casey McAuliffe scored a career high 23 points, hitting seven 3-pointers.
Allie Grasso had 10 points in the loss.
North Reading led the entire game until the last two minutes when the Tigers mounted a ferocious comeback to steal the win on their home court.
“Defensively, we gave up too many open 3-pointers,” said North Reading head coach Bob Melillo. “Our defense in the first five games has not been as good as it needs to be. We need to help each other on defense and rebound better on the defensive end. This is on me to make this improve.”
The Hornets (3-2) will now shift their focus back to the Cape Ann League as they take on Triton at home on Friday night at 7 p.m. before hitting the road to face Manchester-Essex on Tuesday.
