Lynnfield’s girls basketball team led for the first three quarters, but host Waltham rallied with a big fourth quarter to seal a 40-37 win Sunday afternoon.
Freshman Chloe Grieves had a monster game with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Sophomore Hayden Valiton (4 rebounds) and sophomore Maeve Wertz (4 rebounds) were also in double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“It was a good game today. We had a good effort, but we needed just one more stop, one less turnover, one more offensive rebound, or one more basket. It was so close,” Pioneers’ Coach Sue Breen said. “It was a great atmosphere with good intensity and we also did a good job from the free throw line, shooting 8-for-10.”
Lynnfield came out hot on both ends of the court from the opening whistle and led 15-5 after the first quarter.
“We started the game well,” Breen said. “We were trapping and getting some good baskets in transition.”
Waltham’s offense started clicking in the second quarter, outscoring the Pioneers 9-4 to cut Lynnfield’s lead to 19-14 at halftime. The Hawks kept up the pressure in the third to make it a one-point game at 30-29 with eight minutes to go.
Waltham went on a 9-2 run over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to open up a 38-32 lead.
The final minute-and-a-half was pressure-packed. With 1:21 to play, Hayden Valiton came up with a big offensive board and put-back to cut the deficit to 38-32. After an intentional foul, Waltham converted a free throw to get its lead back up to five, 39-34.
With 11 seconds left in regulation, Wertz drained a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game at 39-37. Waltham then converted a free throw after another intentional foul to stretch its lead to 40-37. A last-ditch Lynnfield shot at the buzzer missed the mark.
Senior captain Emma Rose finished with three points, three assists, and two rebounds. Fellow senior captain Erika Pasquale had two points. Taylor Valiton had two rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Faith Angelo had three rebounds and an assist.
Lynnfield (8-11) closed out its regular season Tuesday against Swampscott at home (results too late to print).
Lynnfield 36
Triton 21
In a dominant defensive display, the Pioneers evened their season series at 1-1 with the Vikings with a comeback win at home Tuesday, Feb. 11 to improve to 8-10 (7-8 Cape Ann League).
Both teams struggled to score in the first half, which ended with the Vikings on top 12-9. Things heated up for the Pioneers in the second half on both ends of the court. Trailing 21-20 with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers completed a 27-9 second-half run to seal the victory, shutting out the Vikings the rest of the way.
“This was a great team win for the kids,” Breen said. “We had to come from behind. Our defense really came together in the second half.”
Freshman Chloe Grieves had a big double-double with 11 points and 23 rebounds, while Liv Braley scored nine points. Senior captain Taylor Valiton scored four points and had five rebounds and sophomore sister Hayden Valiton scored four points with three assists. Senior captain Erika Pasquale had five steals, three points, two blocks and four assists. Senior captain Emma Rose and sophomore Maeve Wertz scored two points each. Freshman Calleigh Caprio scored one point and had two steals and sophomore Faith Angelo had three assists.
Trailing 20-18 with 26 seconds left in the first half, Pasquale drained two free throws to pull the Pioneers even at 20-20.
Triton regained its lead at 21-20.
After that, it was all Pioneers. Grieves got the party started with a bucket with 6:23 to go and added another to put Lynnfield on top 24-21 with 4:58 to go. Braley then caught fire, hitting three 3-pointers in a two-minute span to stretch the lead to 34-21 with 2:19 left. Taylor Valiton put the icing on the cake with a bucket with 1:30 left in the game.
