Girls Basketball
Alan Siegel
January 06, 2009 12:38 am Kelley Mikus wasn't exactly shocked by Gia O'Connor's silence. "She didn't even tell me," Mikus said. "I had to read about it in the paper to find out." Sick with the flu, Mikus missed Central Catholic's 77-65 victory over Tewksbury. She had no idea that her friend scored 31 points. O'Connor may not tout her own accomplishments, but she's quietly putting up big numbers for the Raiders. In the absence of Boston College-bound Katie Zenevitch, who's still nursing a broken hand, the 5-foot-10 senior forward is averaging 18.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game. "She just gets it," said Mikus, a senior forward. "There's just something about her. She never has an off game." Central (4-1) hasn't missed a beat so far, and O'Connor's play is a major reason for that. "She's felt the weight on her to pick up the scoring," Raiders coach Sue Downer said. "She's done a nice job with it." Her most valuable contributions, however, have come on defense. She's a lethal defender on the press, constantly making steals and deflections. "She's just so athletic," Downer said. An Eagle-Tribune All-Star in soccer, the Dracut resident doesn't like to talk about herself. Her 31-point game? "Mostly layups off defense," said O'Connor, who also scored 26 in the Raiders' season-opening win over Lawrence. O'Connor may be modest outwardly, but in the locker room she's far from a timid presence. "She definitely motivates everyone," said Mikus. "She gets everyone going. It's good to have her out there." It's even more impressive considering O'Connor didn't start playing organized basketball until friends on the seventh grade travel team encouraged her to come on board. Still, soccer was her No. 1 sport. Then she averaged 6.7 point per game as a junior last season. This season's explosion is just another sign of her progression. "For basketball, this is kind of new," said O'Connor's father, Daniel. "She's starting to get more confidence in her game. It's a big step." At this point, O'Connor is considering playing both basketball and soccer in college. UMass Lowell, Rhode Island College, Suffolk University and Emmanuel College are all under consideration and likely within reach — she's ranked 53rd in her class of more than 300 students. For now, she's concentrating on her current task — keeping things going until Zenevitch returns. "I just thought it would be tough to play without her," O'Connor said. "But we're doing OK." Holiday leftovers Despite the snow and ice that slammed the region over the past few weeks, the Greater Lawrence Girls Christmas Tournament went off without a hitch. Yes, it doesn't draw the massive crowds the boys tourney does, but there was plenty of support from local hoop fans. Methuen athletic director Jim Weymouth helped keep the event running smoothly. From my count, every single game began on-time. That is no small feat. And public address announcer Matt Steinberg, a teacher at Methuen High who's also the Lowell Spinners' director of game day entertainment, deserves some sort of award. Once again, he called all 12 games over the three-day tournament. Carl Beane eat your heart out. Did you see that? This isn't locally based, but I still think it deserves a mention. On Dec. 30, senior Hallie Vitagliano drained a half-court shot to give Newton North a 47-46 win over rival Newton South. The jaw-dropping highlight, which has made several local news telecasts, is pretty amazing. This wasn't a football pass-style heave either. She dribbled, took off from the "S" inside the Newton South center circle, and buried a long-range 3-pointer. The clip can be found on youtube. Just search for "Hallie Vitagliano" and it'll be the first one on the list. Happy New Year everybody. ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to eagletribune.com.
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