Parker’s Triple Double Carries St. John’s to Title
February 16th 2014
At the Breed Middle School in Lynn, the St. John’s Girls Cadets took on St. Joseph of Medford for the North Shore Division II Title. Faye Parker finished with a triple double of 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 blocks and St. John’s pulled away in the second half to win the championship.
St. John’s trailed early and it took just over two minutes for them to get on the board. The took the lead on a top of the key 3-pointer by Katie Watts at the 12:57 mark and then took off. Olivia Matela followed with a bank shot off a feed from Mary Miles and then Faye Parker scored on a drive to the basket to make it 7-1. St. John’s would keep the pressure on. Fiona Herring found a wide open Matela for a 3-pointer. Kayla Kornitsky then came up with a steal and drove for a lay up. She was fouled on the play and finished it off with a made free throw. St. John’s had scored 13 straight points. After a St. Joseph basket, St. John’s went on another roll. Maggie Barden stole a pass and fed Fiona Herring to make it 15-3. After a defensive stop, Mary Miles laid one in, and then Faye Parker came up with her 6th block of the half and found a streaking Miles for another lay up. Always known for her defensive abilities; Mary Miles would score one last time and St. John’s would head to the half with a commanding 23-3 lead on another Faye Parker hoop.
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St. Joseph would make an early 9-2 run to try to get back in the game as they closed the gap to 25-12. But in a short two minute stretch, Faye Parker would take over. Olivia Matela and Grace Carrigan both fed the ball inside for Parker baskets. Next it was Mary Miles to Parker to push the lead to 31-12 with eight minutes remaining in the game. St. Joseph countered with the long ball. Several made 3-pointers cut the lead to 33-22 with a little over two minutes to go. But St. John’s didn’t panic. Kayla Kornitsky hit a runner in the lane to make it 35-22. Then, in her last CYO game, Maggie Barden would finish it off. She scored off an out of bounds play and then again on an assist by Faye Parker to make it 39-22 with just 47 seconds left. St. John’s killed off the clock for a well deserved victory and were crowned the Division II Champions.
Faye Parker added two assists to her triple double and Maggie Barden added 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. Mary Miles finished with 7 points, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Kayla Kornitsky led the defensive show with 7 steals to go along with 5 points. It was a strong finish for St. John’s as they won seven of their last nine and four in a row to take the title.
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Midland and Turner Power St. John’s Title Surge
February 16th 2014
At the Breed Middle School in Lynn, the St. John’s Boys Cadets took on Sacred Heart of East Boston for the North Shore Division II Championship. St. John’s was without their leading scorer, Jake Mcintire, but that didn’t matter. Ben Turner had 15 points and 15 rebounds and McKeon Midland dominated both sides of the ball as he finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds to lead St. John’s to the title in his final CYO game.
St. John’s let East Boston know exactly what they would be getting early as they pounded the ball inside. McKeon Midland got them on the board first assisted by Chris Legere, then made one of two free throws, and scored on the low post on a pass from Ben Turner. Despite Midland’s five early points, Sacred Heart was still within two points of the lead. Max Pegnato’s jumper extended the lead to four with 12:20 on the clock. From here, it would be Ben Turner who would take over. First he fed Midland to make it 9-5, then he grabbed a steal and took it the length of the court. After a made East Boston basket, Turner scored on a drive, followed with another basket off a nice ball fake, assisted on a Jackson Byrne jumper, and closed with another coast to coast drive. Sacred Heart didn’t know what had hit them as St. John’s pulled out to a 19-7 lead with 8:31 left in the half. East Boston would slowly cut the lead to seven before St. John’s would answer on offensive putbacks by Brendan Bradley and Midland to make it 24-15. But St. John’s could only muster one more point on a Midland free throw and they went into the half with a narrow 25-19 lead.
Sacred Heart came out on a mission to start the second half as they scored the first three points to get back into the game. But St. John’s was totally controlling the boards. McKeon Midland and Ben Turner both put offensive rebounds in to hang on to a 29-24 lead. East Boston made one last push narrowing the St. John’s margin to 30-26 with plenty of time on the clock. From there, St. John’s would clamp down on defense and convert on the offensive end. Max Solone hit a runner in the lane, Simon Keough made a free throw, Ben Turner scored on a drive, and McKeon Midland scored in the low post for seven straight points to make it 37-26 with 8:07 to go. Sacred Heart answered back with a six point surge to make it 37-32. Cole Cassidy came up with a big offensive board and put it in to make it 39-32 and Max Solone followed with a free throw to extend the lead to eight with 4:46 left. But St. John’s was having a hard time putting the game away and were holding onto a slim 40-34 lead with just under four minutes remaining. For St. John’s, it was time to turn up the heat. Chris Legere went down low to Turner and then made one of two free throws to make it 43-34. Midland then put back his own miss to make it 45-34 with 3:18 to go. St. John’s could smell the title. Turner came up with a steal and led Chris Legere for a lay up. Midland followed with a free throw and then Max Pegnato made both ends of a one and one. With 1:18 left, St. John’s had poured in ten straight points to put the game away. The final of 50-36 really didn’t tell the story of just how close the game had been.
St. John’s took the title with the help of their two big men on both ends. Midland grabbed 12 offensive boards and Turner had 10 defensive boards. Max Pegnato and Max Solone each added 4 points. Chris Legere had a solid all-around game with 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. St. John’s closed out the season on a three game winning streak to take the North Shore Division II Title.
