St. John's Girls Eliminated in EMass Finals

The St. John's Girls Bantams and Cadets both fell in the EMass Final. Despite the losses, both teams finished fantastic seasons. For the Girls Bantams, Faye Parker set a new season record for rebounds. On the Girls Cadet side, Hannah Leahy broke the season record for free throws made and 4 players, Jamie Caponigro(175), Elizabeth Weisse(148), Hannah Leahy(142), and Gabby LaRiviere(104), scored 100 points on the season. It was the first time that St. John's had sent two teams to the Title Game since 2004.

Late Rally Not Enough - March 16, 2013

At Cathedral High School in Boston, the St. John's Girls Bantams took on St. Francis of Medford for the Eastern Mass Championship. St. John's made a ferocious comeback to take a late lead before St. Francis answered back and survived the rally for a one point win.

Both teams appeared nervous early with very little scoring. Olivia Matela broke the ice for St. John's with a made free throw almost nine minutes into the game. The good news was that St. Francis hadn't done much on offense and the score was only 5-1. Twenty-seven seconds later, Matela grabbed an offensive miss and put it in to cut the lead to two. Medford answered back and then St. John's decided the best way to score was to get the ball to Faye Parker. Parker drained a free throw after being fouled to make it 7-4 at the 4:56 mark. St. Francis followed with three straight baskets to extend the lead to 13-4. With time winding down, Katie Watts fed Parker for a hoop and followed with a made free throw to make it 13-7 with 44 seconds left. St. John's came up with a defensive stop and Jillian Flanders found Faye Parker open underneath to make it 13-9 as the half ended.

St. John's continued to roll early in the second half. Faye Parker scored first and then Kayla Kornitsky scored off an offensive putback to tie the game with 13:10 left. Kornitsky was also being asked to stop St. Francis' leading scorer. St. John's was playing a box and one and had held the St. Francis player who had scored 20 the last time they played, to only 3 points. But St. Francis started to get other players involved offensively, they retook the lead with a four point surge but St. John's had an answer. Mary Miles made a free throw and then Katie Watts scored off a give and go from Faye Parker to make it 17-16. After a Medford basket, Watts answered with a runner down the lane to keep St. John's within one with 6:04 to go. But St. Francis seemed to be pulling away. They extended their lead to four as St. John's couldn't find a hoop. But just as hope was fading, up stepped Fiona Herring. She was not known for her outside shooting but with 3:21 left, she hit a long 3-pointer from the left corner. It was her first 3-pointer of the year and it breathed life into St. John's now trailing 22-21. Faye Parker had a chance to tie it at the free throw line. She missed but grabbed the rebound and put it back in to give St. John's their first lead at 23-22 with 2:23 to go. But St. Francis would not fold. The scored twice sandwiched around a St. John's miss to retake the lead. Faye Parker answered by getting her 17th and final rebound and knocking it in to make it 26-25 with 44 seconds left. St. John's had to foul and with the seconds winding down, they finally did. But the foul was on Faye Parker. It was her 5th foul and she left the game having done all she could. A missed free throw gave St. John's one last opportunity but they could not convert. St. Francis held on for a 26-25 win.

For St. John's Faye Parker finished with a double/double of 11 points and 17 rebounds. Kayla Kornitsky did a tremendous job defensively. Besides her big 3-pointer, Fiona Herring also added 7 rebounds. Despite the loss, the St. John's Girls Bantams made it to the Championship game for the first time since 2004.

St. John's Eliminated in EMass Final - March 16, 2013

At Cathedral High School in Boston, the St. John's Girls Cadets took on St. Adelaide of Peabody for the EMass CYO Title. Peabody came into the game undefeated and showed why as they took an early lead and never looked back to take the EMass crown.

St. Adelaide scored the first five points to take an early lead. Hannah Leahy got St. John's on the board with a steal and drive to the hoop to make it 5-2. Maya Cueva followed with a made free throw and then Leahy did the same to cut the lead to 5-4 with 9:25 to go. But an 8-0 run by Peabody put them in firm control. St. John's would battle back. Leahy fed Gabby LaRiviere down low to make it 13-6. After a defensive stop, Jaymie Caponigro scored off an offensive miss to make it 13-8 with 6:33 on the clock. But St. Adelaide slowly started to pull away. Kendall Rhodes tried to keep it close with a made free throw and then a steal and coast to coast drive but it wasn't enough. Peabody finished the half with a 12-3 run to head to the half leading by fifteen.

St. John's tried to make an early comeback. Two free throws by Leahy and Rhodes got things started in the right direction. Kasey Kennedy followed with a jumper but St. Adelaide always had an answer. With 6:57 left in the game, St. John's trailed by seventeen. But they had one last run left. Gabby LaRiviere made a pair of free throws and Hannah Leahy scored on an offensive putback to make it 34-22. LaRiviere followed a made St. Adelaide basket with another hoop to make it 36-24 with 3:51 left in the game. But on this day, it was not to be for St. John's. Elizabeth Weisse went down fighting with two late 3-pointers but St. John's simply ran out of time. St. Adelaide finished their undefeated season as St. John's fell 45-30.

For St. John's, Hannah Leahy finished with a game high of 16 rebounds to go along with 8 points. Gabby LaRiviere finished with 6 points including her 100th of the season and added 6 boards. Despite the loss, the St. John's Girls Cadets advanced to its first EMass Final since 2006.