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March 8, 2008

Pentucket wins the Division 3 North Finals

Dave Dyer, Staff writer

LOWELL | Pentucket relied on strength in numbers in the Division 3 North championship game at the Tsongas Arena yesterday morning.

As a result, the Sachems (21-2), after a 51-42 victory over Winthrop, are returning to the Division 3 state semifinals Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. at the TD BankNorth Garden against defending state champion Archbishop Williams, which knocked out Pentucket at the same site last year and captured the South championship yesterday.

"We're looking forward to it," said Pentucket center Kirsten Daamen. "We're so much more prepared this year. I think we'll be ready for it."

The Sachems were more than prepared for Winthrop (19-5), which boasted a talented starting five led by star junior Courtney Finn, who entered the game with 1,313 career points, but a weak bench. In the end, the Vikings could not keep pace with the deeper Sachems.

Finn wound up with a game-high 22 points before fouling out with 3:45 to play, but they were probably the toughest 22 points of her life.

Pentucket leading scorer Ashley Viselli, with an occasional turn by Holly Jakobsons, covered Finn like a glove with and without the ball and, when Finn did get past her, 6-foot-3 Sachems' center Kirsten Daamen was there to alter or discourage her shot.

"Coach Mac (John McNamara) told me I was going to match up with her and I knew it'd be a challenge," said Viselli. "I wanted to stop her from jabbing and going for the three and prevent her from driving baseline. It's easier to do that knowing we have Kirsten there."

The stifling coverage kept Finn to 3 of 15 shooting in the first half and 6 of 22 for the game. Most of her shots, especially in the first half, were rushed or from an awkward angle.

Meanwhile, Viselli led a more balanced offense for Pentucket. A pair of nice drives and a 3-pointer gave Viselli seven of her team-high 15 points in the first quarter, during which the Sachems grabbed a 12-6 lead. With five different players scoring in the second quarter for Pentucket, it kept a six-point lead, 22-16, at halftime.

While using seven different players (nine for the game), Pentucket was at its best in the third quarter. Viselli, Andrea Attenasio (12 points, 7 rebounds) and Erin McNamara (six points) all scored four points and Daamen (six points, 11 rebounds) and Jakobsons (eight points) also scored as the Sachems extended their lead to 39-29. Winthrop, meanwhile, didn't make its first substitution of the game until there was 2:31 left in the third quarter.

"We would make inroads, but we don't have a lot of depth, so we had to be careful with the fouls," said Winthrop coach Peter Grimes. "When we put in substitutes, they're just makeshift athletes. We knew Pentucket would be a stiff challenge because of their depth."

Still, Winthrop made a final charge. Trailing 40-29 at the start of the final period, the Vikings scored nine straight points, including seven from Finn, to close to within two, 40-38, with 5:36 still to play. With Daamen on the bench with four fouls, the Sachems seemed to be reeling.

However, that's where Pentucket's depth really showed. Senior reserve Kelly Murphy hit both ends of a one-and-one and three minutes later drove for a basket to make the score 46-42. With Finn now on the bench with five fouls, and Pentucket sent to the free-throw line (where it made 20 of 25 for the game) out of desperation, Winthrop was unable to score again.

"That's probably the best game Kelly's had in her career," said Daamen. "She really came through for us."

And she wasn't the only one, particularly on defense.

"I thought the girls played awesome defense," said coach McNamara. "You can't stop Courtney Finn, but I felt we contained her and that was important."

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