LAWRENCE — Things were going so well for the Central Catholic girls last night that coach Sue Downer needed a mere 2 minutes for her halftime talk.
The situation, however, turned much more serious after intermission.
In a matchup between a pair of top-10 teams, visiting Billerica rebounded from a nine-point deficit with fewer than 5 minutes remaining and eked out a 57-55 victory over the Raiders.
The Indians (6-1 overall, 6-0 MVC) scored seven of the game’s final nine points. A putback by Shannon Hayes with 17 seconds left put Billerica up 56-55, its first lead since Central jumped ahead 7-6 early in the first. After a Casey McLaughlin miss, the Indians capped the scoring with a Brittany Lomanno free throw with 2.5 seconds remaining.
“When you’re playing a real good team, I don’t know if you ever feel 100 percent confident,” Downer said. “I didn’t do anything differently at halftime that I normally do, but the bottom line is we gave up way too many second chances tonight and that’s what killed us.
“It was two good teams playing, but I’d like to think we play (the Indians) multiple times, we’re going to win most times but it’s going to be a battle.”
Billerica’s rally negated a monster final stanza by McLaughlin, who finished with a game-high 23 points and 15 rebounds. The senior scored 10 of the Raiders’ 12 points in the fourth while pulling down five rebounds, blocking three of her four shots and making a steal.
“She’s very determined this season,” Downer said of her captain. “She does everything she can to win, and she’s truly upset in (the postgame locker room) and emotional with the loss. I can’t say enough about how hard she works and the leadership she gives us.”
Caitlin Dell’Orfano helped the Central cause in the first half by scoring all 11 of her points while Amanda Williams and Courtney Walsh each put up six of their eight.
“It’s great for us,” said Billerica coach Chris Doneski, whose squad won both regular-season games against Central last year before the Raiders knocked the Indians out of the North sectionals with a first-round victory. “We had a great season last year and (Central) came in and did a number on us in the tournament. We weren’t thinking about payback we just wanted to come out and play a good game against a good team.”
The Raiders dropped to 7-2 overall and 5-1 conference. Central’s only other loss was to North Andover, which used a Megan Collins layup with 1 second left for a 45-44 victory in the Christmas tournament championship.
Billerica 57,
Central Catholic 55
agateText:Billerica (57): Kayla Leverone 2 1-2 6, Danielle Nickierson 4 7-7 15, Joslyn King 2 4-6 8, Brittany Lomanno 2 3-6 9, Shannon Hayes 5 3-3 13, Caroline Gillis 2 0-0 4, Alexa Napoli 0 0-0 0, Lilly Coppinger 1 0-0 2, Katie McGinness 0 0-0 0, Maura Baronas 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 18-24 57
Central Catholic (55): Courtney Walsh 3 2-2 8, Alex Nagri 2 0-0 5, Amanda Williams 4 0-3 8, Caitlin Dell’Orfano 4 2-2 11, Casey McLaughlin 7 9-11 23, Darion Summers 0 0-0 0, Madison Borrelli 0 0-0 0, Erica Hadad 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 13-18 55
3-pointers: B — Lomanno 1, Leveronne; CC — Nagri, Dell’Orfano
Billerica (6-1, 6-0): 11 14 15 17 — 57
Central Catholic (7-2, 5-1):17 16 10 12 — 55
Should the Sixers draft Cody Zeller?
Is Utley on the verge of going on the DL?
DeSean Jackson on Chip Kelly's new system
South Jersey native Frank Vogel is ready to face the Heat
Luukko: 'Bryz certainly wasn't the reason we had a disappointing season'
Blame shouldn't all fall on Manuel
Amaro 'not concerned' with Hamels not talking to media
Jawarski and if Chip Kelly's system can work in the NFL
Why was DeSean Jackson tweeting about pot?
Did the NCAA violate antitrust laws with PSU sanctions?
NBA Draft: Top 5 Prospects
Athletes come to aid of Oklahoma tornado victims
NFL Player Posts Photo of Himself Appearing to Pee on IRS Building
Are Sixers targeting Kelvin Sampson?
Recipe for Success: Phillies draft picks
Recipe for Success: Phillies at the trade deadline
Recipe for success: Ryan Howard
Phillies talks about struggling to win games
Utley on Halladay going on the DL
Is the bullpen in trouble without Mike Adams?
Sportsnet Central: Rangers state of mind
Felger & Mazz: Is it reasonable to start worrying about WIll Middlebrooks?
Felger & Mazz: Caller challenges Felger & Mazz
Sportsnet Central: Tedy Bruschi selected for Patriots Hall of Fame
Rask: 4th line deserved GW goal
Paille on GW goal: 'I had a perfect view on it'
Bruins' defenseman Wade Redden On Potential Return
Globe 10.0: Can the Bruins young defensemen keep playing well?
Kevin Dupont discusses Bruins-Rangers Game 2
Globe 10.0: Is Lundqvist the key to the series?
Blakely: Rivers to return to Celtics next season
Globe 10.0: Do the Sox rely too much on Lester and Buchholz?
Bruins Talk About Rangers Blocking Shots
Bruins' Patrice Bergeron On Selke Award, Matchup With Rangers
Julien: 'I'm a tired coach'
Seguin: Thornton said he expected something from me in OT
Rask: 'It's really disappointing'
Julien: 'We've been a Jekyll and Hyde hockey club'
