Crimson Tide clinches state tourney berth

Everett girls’ basketball team will begin the postseason in Division 1 early next week

  With one game still left on the regular season schedule (against host Lowell on Feb. 22 – after press deadline), the Everett High School girls’ basketball team (7-5 in the Greater Boston League, 10-9 overall) clinched a berth in the Division 1 state tournament after defeating host Lawrence on Monday afternoon, 55-46. With the win, the Crimson Tide girls moved up in the power rankings, now ranked 57^th in the top division of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), as of Feb. 21.

  Andover (21-0), Bishop Feehan (16-4), Woburn Memorial (18-1), Brookline (16-3) and Wachusett Regional (17-2) are the top five girls’ basketball teams in Division 1. The top GBL team in the division, Lynn Classical (19-0), is ranked 39^th overall. Lynn English (11-8) is 54^th, just three spots ahead of the Tide.

  The state tournament pairings are tentatively scheduled to be announced Friday afternoon, with the postseason beginning early next week.

Tough loss to MC

  Prior to the win over non-league Lawrence, the Everett girls dropped a 60-39 decision to host Malden Catholic in another non-league encounter.

  “The girls battled throughout the entire time and never quit until the final horn sounded,” said coach Riley Dunn. “It’s always a fun time coaching against my best friend (assistant coach Kelsey Roberson) at MC. We played AAU together when we were growing up, and now it has come full-circle coaching against each other. They have a great program with great coaches.”

  Kayley Rossi helped keep the game close for a while and ended up pacing the offensive attack for her Everett teammates with 13 points and three assists.

  Nehemie Lucien was relentless on the boards with eight rebounds and four hard-earned points, according to Dunn. “Her defensive effort was 100% the entire game,” the coach added.