WORCESTER — One state title win was decided in the opening two minutes when the Andover High girls stormed to a 10-2 lead before the first piece of popcorn was consumed.
The other went to the final buzzer, with Central Catholic's Carson Desrosiers having the final say in the Raiders' dramatic win over St. John's of Shrewsbury.
What a night for hoop in the Merrimack Valley!
Andover High's girls, who survived four wars with Central Catholic to emerge as the top program in Eastern Massachusetts, earned the second state title in school girls hoop history by decimating East Longmeadow, 73-37.
"This is unbelievable, my dream come true," said Andover senior Alex Alois of the title win. "We worked so hard for this, and it finally has happened."
Junior Natalie Gomez-Martinez, already being showered with Division 1 college scholarship offers, controlled the night with 25 points, the last Andover starter to leave the floor with over 7 minutes left in the blowout. Sophomore Nicole Boudreau chipped in 18 in the win.
That set the stage for the finale, with the defending state champs from St. John's standing in the way of Central's quest for its second championship in the last three years.
The decisive factor was the senior Desrosiers, of Windham, who scored 26 points, including the game-winning hoop with 5 seconds to play.
As the final buzzer sounded, Central's famed student section, "the Red Sea" erupted with a roar that nearly ripped the roof off the DCU Center.
"I'm speechless, just an incredible feeling," said Desrosiers, who caps his amazing career and now points to his future at Wake Forest. "It's impossible to describe how special this really is."
Earlier in the day in the Division 3 girls title game, Pentucket Regional was denied in its undefeated state title quest, falling to Lee, 56-42.
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