Girls BB 2005-2006 Season

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Classical Girls Basketball Team Stops English
By Christian Mielcarek / For The Daily Item of Lynn ,Saturday, January 28, 2006

Most basketball coaches and fans alike will say that the keys to any top rate team are strong defense and positive contributions from all involved. After Friday night's matchup between Classical (11-2) and cross-city rival English (2-10), the Rams continued to prove they have what it takes, overwhelming the Bulldogs, 65-33.
Classical clinched a spot in the state tournament with a 59-45 win over Gloucester on Tuesday and kept its momentum going right into Friday's contest. The Rams' trap defense caused major headaches for the English ball-handlers all evening, and the Bulldogs committed three turnovers in the first four minutes while attempting to advance the ball past half-court, leading to a 9-2 Classical start.
Even with multiple turnovers from both squads, neither team benefited and the Rams held a 10-4 advantage at the midpoint of the first half. Classical coach Gene Constantino said, "Both teams struggled to score at the beginning and finally we were able to get going."
Making the most of the turnovers it created with the trap, Classical went on a 28-4 run to close out the half at 38-8.
"Turnovers killed us," English coach Fred Hogan said. "They went on a huge run that broke our back."
The Bulldogs committed 21 turnovers in the first half, 29 on the night, and the Rams capitalized, scoring 20 points in the half off English miscues.
Taneka Brown was the leading scorer for Classical, dropping in 11 points, followed by captain Ashley Donovan and Irene Saranteas, who each added nine. Eleven players scored at least one field goal for Classical.
"It was good to get all the girls playing time and see them all gain," Constantino said.
Saranteas was also the leading rebounder for the Rams, pulling down eight boards, five on the offensive glass. Nine Classical players grabbed at least one steal, with Keila Brown swiping four to go along with six points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench.
Another reason for Classical's early success was its ability to shut down English's leading scorer, Renay Hamilton. Hamilton was held scoreless in the first half and did not get her first field goal until almost four minutes into the second half. Hamilton finished the night as her team's leading scorer with 12.
"In the end I got to use a lot of my young girls," Hogan said. "We wanted to come out and fight to the end and we got to do that with our juniors, sophomores and freshmen. Classical is a real good team, and they are the best team we have played all year."

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Classical Girls Hoop Defeats Gloucester
By Matthew Roy / For The Daily Item of Lynn, Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Usually, when Gloucester and Classical get together on the hardwood, an exciting game is the norm. On Tuesday, however, the Rams picked a fine time to play their best game of the season.
Taneka Brown and Manise Louinord combined for 32 points as the Rams broke open a close game in the second half and rolled to a 59-45 win that clinched a state tournament berth.
"That's the best we've played all season," Classical coach Gene Constantino said. "The girls did a great job because we knew that we had to play the whole game against them."
The Fishermen (9-2) seemingly could not find an answer for Brown and Louinord in the lane, as the two constantly got second and third shot opportunities. Classical's (10-2) dominance on the inside led to three Gloucester starters -- Ashley Amero, Atlee Cahill and Vanessa Prince -- fouling out of the game.
After the game, Fishermen coach Jon Flanagan saw that as the difference.
"Classical did an excellent job in attacking the offensive boards. They were much more aggressive than us on offense and that was the difference," Flanagan said.
From the start, Classical's game plan was simple -- bang the boards and keep a close eye on Gloucester star Tommia Davis.
Yes, Davis did finish the game with 16 points, but none of them were easy thanks to the hounding defense of Ashley Donovan.
"Tommia is the MVP of the league and she certainly earned every one of her points (Monday)," Constantino said. "Ashley did a great job guarding her."
Gloucester held an early 7-3 lead before the Rams embarked on a 12-2 run in a little over four minutes, capped by a Donovan jumper that made it 15-9.
After a timeout, the Fishermen responded and closed the lead to a point on Jill Lukegord's 3-point play with 6:28 left. But the Rams' dominance on the glass took over for the next few minutes as Brown singlehandedly extended the lead to seven.
Gloucester would fight back and close to within three before eventually trailing 32-28 at the break.
"I felt like it got away from us a bit at the end of the half," Constantino said. "So we came out and talked about playing hard for the last 16 minutes."
Gloucester started the half by closing the margin to a point on a Lukegord putback that made it 34-33 with 13 minutes left. But foul trouble was beginning to be a problem as Amero, Cahill and Prince all had three personals.
Classical was able to take full advantage of that fact as Louinord keyed a game-breaking run with a drive to the basket plus a foul shot. Christina McKenzie then buried a three from the wing before a Brown free throw and a Donovan long range bomb upped the lead to 44-33.
"We knew that we had to be balanced, and we hit some outside shots that allowed us to get the ball inside," Constantino said.
Davis momentarily stemmed the tide with a basket before free throws from Brown and Irene Saranteas gave the Rams their biggest lead of the contest at 48-35 with 7:00 remaining.
From there on, Gloucester could get no closer than 50-38 as Louinord's inside basket with 5:04 left made it 54-38, putting aside any doubts about the outcome.
 "We really played up to the challenge against a great Gloucester team," Constantino said. "When we play under control, this team is tough to beat."

Lady Rams Pass a Big Test   Reported by Irene (and Staff ) 1//04/06

The Lady Rams faced one of their most difficult games last night. The girls got off to a rocky start against Bishop Fenwick and found themselves down 8-2. It took a few minutes for the Rams to turn themselves around with the help of sophomore Christina Mckenzie scoring a few baskets. Ashley Donovan (8 pts), Manise Louinard (10 pts), and Meaghan Reddy (8 pts) all got the game going from there. 
Irene Santareas, an outstanding player from last season, overcame a serious back problem and started her first game this year. Welcome back, Irene !!
At halftime the girls found themselves down by 2. In the second half,  Toneisha Tate got the Rams moving ( and she finished out the game with 12 points.) By playing some solid defense the Rams found themselves with a 10 point lead in the second half and kept it. The final score was Classical 52 , Bishop Fenwick 39 .

Donovan Named MVP as Classical Rolls to Boverini Tournament Title        Story and photos courtesy of the Lynn Journal

Ashley Donovan hit a three-pointer and added another basket just a minute into the game. Taneka Brown scored on a long-range shot and Christina McKenzie swished two free throws. At that point, St. Mary’s High School coach Jeff Newhall knew his team would be in an uphill battle the rest of the way.
Donovan and her teammates kept the pressure on the St. Mary’s defense as the Rams raced past the Spartans, 53-20, to win the Walter Boverini Basketball Tournament championship last Wednesday night at Lynn Classical.
Donovan finished with a game-high 17 points and took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, keeping the championship and the MVP trophy in the Rams’ family for the second year in a row. Classical’s Irene Saranteas was the MVP in the inaugural year of the tournament.
 

“We were hoping to get    into a running game but when they came out and started hitting their shots, we weren’t able to do that,” said Newhall, who was making his Boverini Tournament debut. “Classical is a very good team. Ashley had an outstanding game. It was great competition playing in this tournament. We were excited to play in the championship game.”
Classical (5-1) defeated Lynn Tech, 53-25, in one semifinal. St. Mary’s best an improving Lynn English team, 54-42, in overtime, in the other semifinal.
“We’re in a tough league and to come in here and defend the championship, we’re very pleased,” said Classical coach Gene Constantino. “Ashley came out in the opening minutes and dominated the game. She’s been a great four-year player for us and the MVP award is well-deserved.”
Donovan was a starting player on the Rams’ 2003-4 team that went 20-0 and advanced to the Division 1 North final against Andover. She has built a reputation as a clutch player. Her dramatic 3-point field goal in a regular season game against Gloucester that season forced overtime where the Rams prevailed and preserved their perfect regular season record.
“I’m excited to be the MVP but the whole team did a really good job,” said Donovan moments after accepting the trophy from Athletic Director Dick Ruth. “We came out fired up. We were the defending champions and we wanted to keep our title.”
Donovan, who was an All-Tournament selection last year, has been accepted to Simmons College and Northeastern University. She said the 5-1 Rams are improving with every game.
“As a team, our first goal is to qualify for the tournament; second to win the NEC; and third, go as far as we can in the tournament,” said Donovan.

Classical Remains Undefeated (after First Game)   

by Irene Santareas  for lynnclassical.org  , December 14. 2005                   

The Lady Rams had their season opener last night vs. Swampscott. These girls proved
they were all business from the opening tip to the final OT minute. Both teams traded
baskets the whole game. Manise Louinard stepped up big for the rams. She had 16
rebounds, most of them clutch in the final minutes to go along with 10 points. Taneka Brown came up with some big steals down the stretch and also chipped in 8 points.
Cierra Campbell hit a short jumper in OT to get the rams rolling. Keila Brown and
Christina Mckenzie each hit two big threes to get the rams fired up. Ashley Donovan and
Meagan Reddy both played tough and contributed greatly to leading the rams to victory.
All in all it was a tremendous team victory to start off this season. GO RAMS!

Game Schedule           FRESHMAN 4:00             J.V.  5:30               VARSITY 7:00

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