GIRLS BASKETBALL
Facing a tough home stretch of games, the Hamilton-Wenham girls basketball team couldn't afford to suffer a loss at home to Manchester Essex last night.
Fortunately for coach Bill Burridge, the Generals turned things around in the second half and pulled away from the Hornets with a 58-49 victory.
Hamilton-Wenham improved to 7-7 and now must win two of its final four games to qualify for the postseason.
"Manchester Essex played very well; they've improved," Burridge said. "Sometimes you're not ready for teams like that and we were very fortunate to pull it out. We dug in and played very good defense in the second half."
Victoria Tansey led the way for the Generals with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Taylor Morong and Sue Rose played well.
Cassandra Fibbe added 13 points and Haley Willis added 12 for Hamilton-Wenham.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Pingree 68, Boston Trinity 34: Sophomore forward Kyle Lentini had a huge first half with 23 points and finished with a game-high 28 as Pingree improved to 14-4. Lentini shot 9 of 10 before intermission, including 4 of 4 on three-point shots. Senior guard Isaac Carp added 13 points for the winners.
GYMNASTICS
North Andover 134.1, Peabody 124.4: The Tanners (1-8) came up short in their bid for a second win, but they did produce their best score of the season. Aimee Sinewitz was third in the all-around with a 32.95. She placed second on vault (9.0) and floor (8.6), and third on beam (8.25). Shelby Coulter added a second on bars (8.1), while Sam Kinnaly took third on vault (8.55).
GIRLS HOCKEY
mARBLEHEAD 5, aUBURN 1: Saturday, the Lady Headers took a step closer to tournament qualification with a convincing road win. Rachel McKay and Eliza Quigley led the offense with a goal and an assist while Keelin Fallon, Ally Healy, and Emmarose Winder also scored. Goaltender Ally Hopkins stopped 15 shots to earn the win and Casey McDonald and Katie Zarinsky notched assists.
Tilton 2, Pingree 1 (OT): Freshman Leah Heinze's wrap-around goal in the thrid period staked the Highlanders to a 1-0 lead, but Tilton evened things up late in the frame and then scored the game-winner with 55 seconds left in overtime. Goalie Lindsay O'Connell of Danvers made 43 stops for Pingree, which fell to 8-7.
St. Mary's 9, Austin Prep 0: Junior forward Alison Butler of Danvers scored two goals and added two assists, while senior captain Genevieve Benoit of Swampscott chipped in a pair of goals for the Spartans (12-3), who clinched a share of the Catholic Central League title with the win.
Peabody's Jacqueline Murphy, a sophomore from Peabody, also contributed a pair of assists for St. Mary's.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Endicott 59, Eastern Nazarene 48: Nicole Heffernan scored 17 points and Jordan Ferland added 15 to help Endicott turn a two-point halftime deficit into a double-digit win. Ferland and Jen McBrien each had nine boards for the Gulls (13-8, 10-4 CCC).
MEN'S BASKETBALL
endicott 89, Eastern Nazarene 83: The Gulls built a 20-point halftime lead and watched it nearly disappear in the second half before closing out the win. Lachlan Magee had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Lance Greene pitched in 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Andre Makris produced a double-double for Endicott (13-8, 8-6 CCC) with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyler Burkhart chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and five assists off the bench.
