Hamilton-Wenham girls fall to rival Amesbury in Division 4 quarterfinals
Mar. 13—HAVERHILL — Coming into the Saturday's Division 4 state quarterfinal, Cape Ann League rivals Hamilton-Wenham and Amesbury were quite familiar with one another, having already played three times already this season.
The Generals knew they'd have to be at their best against fourth seeded Amesbury to advance ... but that didn't happen. Instead, the Indians jumped out to a big lead and never looked back, claiming a decisive 56-37 victory at the Whittier Tech gymnasium.
Hamilton-Wenham, which finished its season with a 17-6 record, saw Lily Cassidy hit a free throw, then surrendered nine straight points and was was forced to play catch up the rest of the way. The Generals scored only four points in the opening quarter and found themselves trailing by 10.
"I didn't want to face Amesbury again until the finals," said head coach Mark Cole. "I liked our chances against any other team, but we just don't match up well with Amesbury. They're very good, big and can shoot. They've got four excellent seniors, and we knew we'd be in trouble if we fell behind.
"They went on that run and it snowballed from there," he added. "We tried to throw some new things at them that we worked on in practice. We thrive on man-to-man defense, but knew Amesbury had struggled against the zone with other teams. Unfortunately, it didn't slow them down this time."
Senior Avery Hallinan, who led Amesbury with 25 points, helped lead that early charge. Sami Kimball (11 points) and Olivia DeLong (10) were also in double digits.
Hamilton-Wenham, the No. 12 seed, turned the ball over numerous times and had trouble penetrating the Indians' tough defense in the paint. The big height advantage also gave them trouble right from the start, with shots blocked and rebounds hard to come by.
The Generals cut their deficit to eight midway through the second quarter on a basket by Christa Coffey and three-pointers by freshman Sadie Gamber before the Indians went on a 7-2 run before intermission.
"Our defense was the difference," said Amesbury (19-4) head coach Gregg Dollas. "Gabby Redford (played) lockdown D and the rest of the girls did a great job, too. Hamilton-Wenham has so many good 3-point shooters that we needed strong defense.
"We also knew we had to get off to a good start, and did after struggling the first two minutes," Dollas added. "Avery was outstanding; that reverse layup she made that was insane."
Dollas knew his team had to pay special attention to Hamilton-Wenham captain Jane Maguire, who was high scorer for her team with 15 points and had six steals. "She went off against us last time and had 29 points the other night," he said. "We had to keep her bottled up and did for the most part."
It was a very physical game, and H-W got in early foul trouble in the second half. Amesbury capitalized by making 16 of 21 foul shots and opened up a 26-point cushion heading into the final frame. Midway through the quarter both coaches began taking their starters out one by one and putting the bench players in.
"We never quit. I'm so proud of the effort all the girls gave," said Cole. "Today was not our day, but if anybody told me we'd win 17 games this season I would've said they were nuts. I give all the credit to the kids they were able to come this far. As the season went on they gained confidence, and when we beat Amesbury midway through (the season), that was the turning point."
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Amesbury 56, Hamilton-Wenham 37
Division 4 playoffs Elite Eight
at Whittier Tech Field House, Haverhill
HAMILTON-WENHAM: Campbell 0-2-2 L. Coffey 0-0-0, Whelan 1-0-2, C. Coffey 2-0-5, Maguire 5-2-15, N. Gamber 1-0-2, Simon 0-0-0, Cassidy 0-2-2, Stinson 0-0-0, DeSimone 2-2-6, Shea 0-0-0, S. Gamber 1-0-3. Totals 12-8-37.
AMESBURY: M. Hallinan 0-3-3, Catarius 0-0-0, DeLong 3-3-10, A. Hallinan 10-3-25, Levasseur 0-0-0, Dollas 0-0-0, Gerrior 0-0-0, Bolth 0-0-0, Redford 2-2-6, Marden 0-1-1, Kimball 3-4-11. Totals 18-16-56.
Halftime: Amesbury, 27-14.
3-Pointers: H-W, Maguire (3), C. Coffey, S. Gamber; A, A. Hallinan (2), DeLong, Kimball.
Records: H-W 17-6, A 19-4.
Contact Jean DePlacido @JeanDePlacidoSN
