As sole senior, Shannon fills multiple roles for Merrimack

Four years ago, as the only freshman on the Merrimack College women's basketball team, Amanda Shannon was uncertain of her role.

This season, as the squad's only senior, her role is clear. The former Cape Ann League Player of the Year from North Andover is being asked to lead and score and, according to coach Helen Williams, is doing both quite admirably.

In a recent game against Stonehill, the 5-foot-8 point guard became the 16th player in Merrimack's long and storied history to net 1,000 career points. The milestone came on a free throw eight minutes and 44 seconds into the second half. She finished with a game-high 22 points in the 78-63 loss.

"She's a kid who always wants the ball in her hands, and that's not a bad thing," said Williams, whose Warriors stand 2-5 before the holiday break. "It's not always for herself, either. She's thinking a play or two ahead, whether to pass, whether to shoot. She always knows what's going on and that's a big help to me. She's like a coach on the floor. She just loves to play the game. When she was named captain, she sought out other captains of other sports to see what sort of things they did to build team chemistry. She wants nothing more than to win."

Through the first seven games, Shannon was averaging a team-leading 21.6 points per game, and 39.1 minutes played. She's also tops in field-goal attempts (128) and field goals made (57), 3-point attempts (59) and 3-pointers made (25), assists (20), and turnovers (29). Her career 1,034 points is well off the school record 2,038 scored by Joelle Martin from 2002 to 2006, but has her within striking distance of number-five Jenny Smith, who scored 1,267 points in 2002-05. Shannon has 19 regular season and possible playoff games to play.

"I'm shooting more and getting more comfortable doing so," said Shannon, who has improved her scoring average each season, from 5.5 points as a freshman to 9.6 as a sophomore and 16.3 last season.

"I've been asked to step it up a bit by coach Williams, and I think there's more of a need this season because I am the only senior on the team. I feel it's necessary for me to have an impact on every game. I've come to realize that the 3-point shot in college is a huge factor and it's become one of my favorite shots. I never thought about scoring 1,000 points, but when it happened it was an awesome moment for me."

Shannon played a key role in Merrimack's 85-84 double overtime win at American International. She hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation to send the game into overtime and scored on a jumper with two seconds left to force a second OT. Then she drained a pair of free throws with five seconds left for the victory. She finished with 27 points and a game-high 50 minutes played.

"Coach and I talk every day and we see the improvement individually and collectively," she said. "We're a young team with two freshmen and three transfers, and we're still learning the system. But we're beginning to score more points and playing some tight defense. It will take time, but I think some good things are going to happen."

Also topping the 1,000-point barrier was Lasell senior captain Brad Caravoulias (inset) of Dracut. He reached the charmed circle in a 68-57 Great Northeast Athletic Conference win over Rivier. Points 999, 1,000, and 1,001 came when he nailed a 3-pointer on his first shot in the game's opening minute. Caravoulias, a 6-foot-5-inch guard, has been a catalyst for Lasell the past three seasons and is the team's leading scorer this year through six games (14.5 points per game).

"He has really improved his game overall," said Lasell coach Aaron Galletta, who recruited Caravoulias. "He's a much more complete player both offensively and defensively now than when he first got here. He's been a key contributor and has really stepped up his game this year."

The Billerica Braves Pop Warner cheerleading squad is coming home champions from the 2008 Pop Warner National Cheer & Dance Championships held last week at the Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The girls, ages 10 to 14, won first place in the advanced category of the Junior Midget Small division. The team beat 16 other teams from around the country that competed at Disney Dec. 8-12. The Braves also placed first in state and regional qualifying rounds during football season.

Sophomores Tess Guttadauro of Carlisle and Irene Lewnard of Westford and freshman Marianna Zak of Concord were all members of the Tufts field hockey team that lost to Bowdoin, 3-2, in the Division 3 NCAA title game. Guttadauro and Lewnard combined for seven goals on the season while Zak, the starting goalkeeper, posted an 18-2 record with a 0.91 goals-against average and 10 shutouts. She started the season with 15 consecutive wins. . . . The University of Massachusetts at Lowell's baseball team has postponed its 10-day tour of Sweden from next August to August 2010 because of state budget cuts. "We did not feel comfortable bringing our team overseas while people on our campus were cutting budgets and losing jobs," said coach Ken Harring. . . . Bentley senior Lew Finnegan of Lexington tied a school record with eight 3-pointers in a 78-51 win over St. Rose. Finnegan had a career-high 29 points, including his 1,000th in a Bentley uniform. He played his freshman season at Cal-Poly. . . . UMass-Lowell junior Jacquie Barrett of Woburn tossed the shot 44 feet, 3.25 inches to place second in the Northeastern University Husky Carnival. That provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships

Sports notebook ideas or information may be sent to johnpvel@aol.com. Kathy McCabe contributed to this report.