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MVC - Most Valuable Conference
If you’ve come to this blog looking for girls’ basketball coverage, chances are you are both passionate and knowledgeable. So please, help me do everything possible to make this the best darn girls’ basketball blog in Eastern Massachusetts history. Criticisms, story ideas, player of the week nominations, I’ll take it all. I can be reached at JSchaible@globe.com. Thank you and enjoy.
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GAME OF THE WEEK: Wed. Central Catholic at Andover, 7:30. The top-ranked Golden Warriors (11-0, 7-0) host their perennial Merrimack Valley Conference foe No. 5 Central Catholic (10-1, 6-1). A Raider win creates a three-way tie -- with No. 4 Lowell (8-2, 6-1) atop EMass’ strongest league. Excitement will only build next week when Lowell squares off against both teams.
My pick: Andover, 57-52. Sophomore guard Meghan Thomann sinks nine three’s -- she’s done it before -- as the Golden Warriors tighten the stranglehold they have on the MVC crown.
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Staying with the MVC, I caught up with Lowell coach Michael Crowley last night. I wanted to see how his team is progressing since being dropped from a preseason No. 1 to the fourth slot. Already stacked with one of the state’s most potent backcourt tandems, Ashley Rivera and Courtney Schermerhorn, the Red Raiders added two 6-footers, (twins to be exact, Whitney and Brianna) and had a world of potential. An opening night win over Central Catholic solidified the selection but since then they’ve experienced a pair of hiccups, most notably to conference rival and current No. 1 Andover. But with two months before tournament time, no one is safe in the top spot.
Remember, last year’s Division 1 State Champions, Dartmouth, weren’t even ranked going into the tournament. Somebody really dropped the ball on that one.
More from Lowell coach Michael Crowley ...
On the twins’ -- Whitney and Brianna -- development so far:
"Whitney is getting better every day. Right now she’s our seventh girl, the second off the bench. She’s giving us consistent production. Brianna needs to grow into her body a little more. She needs to start jumping, getting off the floor for rebounds. Once she does, she’ll go to the next level."
On all-star guard Courtney Schermerhorn who is closing in on 1,000 career points:
"Coming in freshman year she had a lot of height. She hit the game-winning shot against Peabody in the Division 1 North playoffs, a 3-pointer. She’s been starting since day one. She's consistent. She brings it every night. There’s a lot more to her game then scoring too. She’s the complete player, makes everyone on the floor better."
On what the Red Raiders must improve before tournament time:
"Boxing out. It makes the rest of our game better. When we do it we look great. When we don’t, we give up easy baskets. It holds us back."
On the Game of the Week, fellow Merrimack Valley Conference hopefuls Andover and Central Catholic:
"It’s a coin flip. I’m pulling for Central to make it a three-way tie heading into next week when we play them both. But it could be either. I like Andover if they’re hitting their shots. I like Central if they’re controlling the glass."
On Andover’s recipe for success:
"They always have the best defense in the state. Coach [Jim] Tildsley does a great job coaching the defense and they always have the best shooters. [Note: Year in and year out, the Golden Warriors are one of the strongest teams in the state, despite losing key players (think Ashley McLaughlin or Jackie Powers)]. They score and stop their opponents from scoring; it’s a winning recipe."
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Due to inclement weather and limited high school action, the 1/23/06 edition did not feature a roundup. Should the article have ran, the lede would have been:
Sixth-ranked Braintree (10-0) defeated No. 18 Brockton (8-2), 70-59, behind 22 points by senior Brittnery Chappron. Senior Marry McDonald added 13 points and 7 rebounds.
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In the city league, Burke (10-0) is off to a lightning fast start and is receiving serious consideration for the Top 20. City league teams don’t typically fair well come MIAA tournament time. Is Burke different?
