St. Francis Girls Hoops Wrapping Up Regular Season

Junior Division

Crush 13, Buckeyes 12 – With a three-way tie atop the Junior Division standings, a pair of 6-2 teams squared off in a match-up where the winner would have a slight advantage with just three games left in the regular season. Tara Foley’s second basket of the game came with 7:56 remaining and although it would be the last points for the Crush, it proved to be enough. The Crush also got points from Emma Cline, Abby McCarthy, Abigail Cline and Samantha Morin. Rhiannon Arnold and Mya Matarazzo each finished with four points for the Buckeyes, who have dropped three consecutive games.

Celtics 22, Red Storm 12 – The Celtics (7-2) kept pace with the Crush by jumping out to a 12-4 halftime lead behind six points from Colleen Hardy and four points from Shannon Smith. Hardy went on to finish with a game-high 14 points for the Celtics, whose 22 points represent the highest scoring game for a team in the Junior Division this year. Destiny Fitzgerald led the way for the Red Storm (1-7) who also got baskets from Heather McShane and Alana Turner.

Senior Division

Nets 38, Tar Heels 18 – Rebecca Pierce scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the opening frame to help the Nets take down the Tar Heels. Pierce picked her spots in the early going, making sure that her teammates remained involved on offense despite her hot shooting from the perimeter. Sophia Zavarelli chipped in with eight points for the Nets, who improved to 5-4 on the year and outscored the Tar Heels 20-7 in the second half. Siobhan and Raniece Turner combined to score 16 of the 18 points for the Tar Heels, who lost for just the second time this season.

Dragons 28, Angels 8 – Elena and Sarah Branley seemed to have an extra bounce in their step for the Dragons, who cruised past the Angels, 28-8. The Branley sisters were playing in front of their father, Commander Sgt. Major Brian Branley, who returned home from Iraq. Elena netted eight of her season-high 12 points in the opening half for the Dragons, 6-3, while Paulina Petras chipped in with eight points in the victory. Angela Valente and Kelly Foley recorded all of the points for the Angels, who were held scoreless in the first half.

– Submitted by Brian Devine