St. John's "Girls of Winter" Clinch Tourney Birth

At the St. John's Parish Center Gymnasium in Peabody on Saturday, the Girls Bantam Blue took on St. John's of Peabody looking to clinch a spot in the CYO State Tournament.

Hannah Leahy got things going with an offensive put back and the early lead. By the time Veronica Rizzo hit a jumper with 9:58 to go in the half, it was 10-0 in favor of Swampscott.

After a Peabody basket to break the run, Lily Burkett stole the ball twice and scored both times for a 14-2 lead with 6:42 left. St. John's of Peabody had no idea what had hit them.

Gabby LaRiviere's basket on a feed from Kasey Kennedy gave Swampscott's "Girls of Winter" a 20-6 lead with 2:40 left. Veronica Rizzo's basket with 34 seconds left made it 24-11 Swampscott at the half.

St. John's of Peabody needed the win badly as they were in a battle with St. Thomas of Nahant for the final playoff spot.

After a Peabody basket to start the second half, Kasey Kennedy drove coast to coast to maintain the 13 point lead. Swampscott slowly began pulling further away.

With 9:40 left in the game, Kendall Rhodes stole the ball, flipped it to Veronica Rizzo, who gave it back to Rhodes for a basket and foul on the play. Rhodes hit the free throw to give Swampscott its biggest lead of 41-20.

Any chance of a comeback disappeared as Swampscott went on a 7-0 run. After a basket to break the run, Kennedy scored again to put the final nail in Peabody. Alyssa Stati's late coast to coast basket gave Swampscott the big win.

Kasey Kennedy led Swampscott with her all around game of 12 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Eleni Laskaris and Hannah Leahy each finished in double figures with 10 rebounds apiece.

With the win, Swampscott improves to 10-1 and clinches a State Tournament birth with wins in at least 70% of their games.

St. John's "Girls of Winter" Clinch Tourney Birth
With the snow piling higher and higher, one bright spot in the dull winter has been the St. John's Girls Bantam Blue basketball team.

Their recent win over St. John's of Peabody clinched a CYO State Tournament birth. They improved their record to 10-1 and are just behind undefeated St. Adelaide of Peabody.

"This is quite an accomplishment," said St. John's Athletic Director Ted Kennedy, "Not everyone makes it. You have to be very consistent to win 70% of your games to get in."

The CYO State Tournament will be held at Milton High School the first weekend in March. Prior to that, the North Shore CYO playoffs will be held at Medford High School.

The top 6 teams in the 12 team Bantam division will make the playoffs. St. John's is currently in second place. They will receive a bye in the first round based on their tie-breaker advantage win over St. Rafael of Medford.



Venuti Leads Romp
 At Northeast Regional, the Boys Bantams took on OLA of Lynnfield on Sunday.

St. John's jumped out early as Gavin Sullivan scored assisted by AJ Venuti. An 11-2 run began highlighted by a Max Emmerich 3-pointer. After matching baskets, AJ Venuti scored on back to back base line drives to give Swampscott a 21-7 halftime advantage over Lynnfield.

In the second half, St. John's made sure to put the game away. Josh Allen drove coast to coast for a hoop to start the half.

Gavin Sullivan's 3 pointer with 10:46 to go in the game extended the lead to 21 points. After back-to-back Lynnfield baskets, Matty Moran finished them off with a 3 pointer banked in from the right of the key with 9:32 left. St. John's was never challenged after that.

For Swampscott, every player scored in the total team effort. AJ Venuti led the way with a double double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Matty Moran (10 rebounds and 7 points) and Noah Carreiro (10 rebounds and 4 points) controlled the inside for St. John's. Luke Marshall played well with 4 points and 6 rebounds as St. John's took 2 of 3 over the weekend.

Laskaris and Leahy Double Trouble for Nahant
At Swampscott Middle School on Saturday, the St. John's Girls Bantam Blue took on St. Thomas of Nahant. Nahant came into the game at 6-5 and battling for a playoff spot while Swampscott sat in second place at 8-1.

Both teams were tight as it turned into a defensive battle. Hannah Leahy scored on an offensive putback and then Veronica Rizzo fed Gabby LaRiviere for an early lead. St. John's seemed to have control with an 11-2 run to lead by nine with 2:42 left in the half.

But St. Thomas would have none of it. They hit two baskets to cut the lead to five as the half wound down.

But just as it looked like a comeback in the making, Kasey Kennedy hit a jumper with 21 seconds left to reestablish control for Swampscott. They led 15-8 at the half.

Both teams picked up the pace in the second half. Nahant scored first, but St. John's then went on an 8-0 run. Elizabeth Weisse was the catalyst as she fed Eleni Laskaris and Hannah Leahy for back to back baskets.

St. Thomas rallied again but Gabby LaRiviere's offensive rebound and basket kept them at bay. St. Thomas was getting desperate and started taking defensive risks. St. John's made them pay.

Kasey Kennedy hit Veronica Rizzo for a jumper and a fifteen-point lead. Before Nahant realized what hit them, Hannah Leahy fed Alyssa Stati for a basket. Swampscott's 10-0 run put the game away.

Hannah Leahy (10 points and 7 rebounds) and Eleni Laskaris(10 points and 11 rebounds) led St. John's. Lily Burkett (11 rebounds) and Gabby LaRiviere (10 rebounds) prevented any second chances for Nahant. Guard Elizabeth Weisse pitched in with 7 rebounds of her own as Swampscott improved to 9-1 with the 43-24 win. They can clinch a State tournament spot with a win vs. St. John's of Peabody on Super Bowl Sunday.

Bradley Powers St. John's Victory
 At Swampscott on Saturday, the St. John's Boys Cadets took on Blessed Sacrament of Saugus.

The game was over early. Ryan Bradley was the force for St. John's. He scored the first basket of the game and had 10 first half points as Swampscott led at the half by double figures.

In the second half, Bradley remained on fire as he added another 14 points. He would finish the game with a double double of 24 points and 17 rebounds. Bailey Kennedy also doubled up with 11 points and 12 assists.

Colin O'Brian had his best game of the year with 6 points and 10 rebounds. St. John's improved to 8-4 with the win.

Carreiro's Blocks Set Tone in Win
 At St. Mary's High School on Saturday, the St. John's Boys Bantams played the first game of a doubleheader against St. Mary's of Lynn.

Noah Carreiro set the early tone defensively as he blocked the first shot of the game. After a St. Mary's hoop, Dylan Hayes hit a 3-pointer and the next two baskets to make the score Hayes 7- St. Mary's 2.

The romp was on. Back to back assists by Gavin Sullivan to AJ Venuti and Alex Derkautsen pushed the lead to eight.

With 5 minutes to go in the half, Chad Swigor grabbed a rebound and took it coast to coast for a basket and an 18 point lead. Brendan Bradley finished the half by making two free throws as St. John's led 29-12.

The second half began the same as the first as Noah Carreiro blocked another shot. A 6-0 run to open the second half put the game away early. Max Emmerich fed Alex Derkautsen with a behind the back pass and then nailed a 3-pointer to give Swampscott a 25 point lead with 11:37 to go in the game.

Brendan Bradley finished the game by hitting two more free throws as St. John's rolled to a 51-24 win.

Dylan Hayes led St. John's with 9 points. Gavin Sullivan and Brendan Bradley each chipped in 8 point apiece. Peter Battinelli played a solid game with 6 rebounds. St. John's plays their second game of the day later this afternoon at St. Pius.

Boys Bantams Split Doubleheader
At Lynn's Breed Middle school on Saturday, the St. John's Bantam Boys took on St. Pius (10-1).

Things looked bright early. For the second game in a row, Noah Carreiro blocked the first shot taken. But facing two Lynn teams in one day is a daunting task, and St. Pius has lost only 1 regular season game in the last two years.

Pius went on an 8-0 run until Alex Derkautsen got St. John's on the board. Matty Moran scored on a nice pass from Gavin Sullivan to cut the lead to five points with 7:13 left in the half. But St. Pius turned up the offense and went on another big run.

Sullivan hit a 3-pointer near the end of the half but St. John's trailed by double digits.

St. Pius put the game away early in the second half. A late Dylan Hayes 3-pointer was the Swampscott highlight.

Hayes led St. John's with 7 points and 4 rebounds. AJ Venuti added 8 boards in the loss.