Lady Patriots lose in tight decision to Lynn English

  Sitting in a three-way tie for first place in the Greater Boston League (GBL) standings, the Revere High School girls’ basketball team came up just two points short of remaining in the top spot last Thursday night at home against the Lynn English Bulldogs. In an intense defensive battle, it was the visiting Bulldogs who prevailed by a 38-37 margin.

  Falling behind 13-5 early in the game, the Patriots stormed back with 12 straight points to pull in front, 17-13, as Revere’s Carolina Carvalho-Bettero drilled a three-pointer that got the hosts to that point. English would regroup to outscore the Patriots, 11-5, over the remainder of the first half and grab a 24-22 lead at the break.

  The contest was nip-and-tuck throughout the second half. English owned a 31-28 advantage entering the fourth and increased it to 36-29 with just over three minutes left in the game. But field goals by Belma Velic, Carvalho-Bettero and Haley Belloise made it a 38-37 contest with 39 seconds still showing on the clock. From there, neither team was able to score. As a result, English came away with the important league win.

  For Revere, Belloise finished with 12 points, followed by Velic with 11 and Carvalho-Bettero with nine.

  Revere Head Coach Chris Porrazzo told the press after it was over that he thought it was his team’s best defensive effort of the season. “I was really proud of our girls. We really fought hard,” he said. “It’s a shame for us that we couldn’t come away with the win.”

  Revere restored its winning ways with a close 50-45 victory at Medford on Tuesday. Carvalho-Bettero exploded for 30 points to lead the Patriots. She added eight rebounds and five steals to her game totals as Revere improved to 8-5 overall on the season.

  The Patriots traveled to face Chelsea on Thursday (after press deadline) and return home on Saturday (scheduled 2:30 p.m. tip) to take on the Red Devils again. They then have a rematch with the Bulldogs at Lynn English on Monday night.