BOSTON - From afterthought to forethought.
The Hull Lady Pirates entered the MIAA Division 4 South girls' basketball tournament as the 16th seed with a 10-10 record. The school, like Stoneham, has debated cutting sports in the midst of a budget crisis. So to even suggest that the Pirates could possibly be hoisting the Division 4 state championship trophy would be far-fetched, to say the least.
Never say die! The Pirates (16-10) accomplished "the impossible dream" as they defeated the New Mission Lady Titans 59-55 Monday at TD Garden.
"This is the second straight year there's been no money in the athletic program," Pirates head coach Elizabeth Londergan explained. "We've had any fundraiser you can think of."
Runs like those of Hull and Stoneham (who lost to St. Mary's in the Division 3 North final) are exactly the reason many say that sports should not be considered for budget cuts.
"Every kid in every town should get a chance to play," Londergan affirmed.
Two Hull players had double-doubles: senior forward Nicole Heavern (25 points, 12 rebounds) and junior forward Lauren Geary (12 and 12). Katie Manning also chipped in 10 and 8.
"[Nicole] has been our go-to player all year," Londergan added. "It was nice to see the rest of the team step up."
New Mission's dynamic duo of junior Tianna Johnson (20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 steals) and freshman Jazuela Laraguente (21 points) kept the Titans (18-6) in the game to the very last play, but Hull's Amy MacDonald (8 points, all in the fourth quarter) stole the inbound pass that would have set up the tying shot, and sunk her free throws to clinch the victory.
"We let some things slip away, but we fought hard," said New Mission head coach Greg Berry. "I thought we gave it our best shot."
Berry's first trip to the parquet floor since winning the Division 4 state championship as a player for Trinity Catholic didn't end as well as he had hoped, but with Johnson and Larguente leading the charge, he certainly hopes it won't be too long before he comes back again.
"I can't say enough about them," Berry added. "For [Jazuela] to play the way she did today, I told her, 'You have arrived. We can no longer call you a freshman.'"
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