Girls’ basketball team sneaks into playoffs
By Jay Turner
Freshman Eileen Khoury and the Bulldogs are headed to the D3 tourney. (Mike Barucci photo)
Despite losing two more games last week and four in a row overall, the CHS girls’ basketball team is headed back to the postseason after a huge win Sunday at Westwood in the opening round of the Riley Winter Classic.
Similar to last season, the Bulldogs are the beneficiaries of the so-called “Sullivan rule,” which allows teams that play a majority of their games against higher-division opponents to still make the playoffs based on their record against teams in the same division. Canton, for instance, managed to win half of its games against Division 3 opponents, thus punching its ticket to the D3 tourney, which gets underway early next week.
Although some might see it as a technicality, the Bulldogs still had to win when it counted — which is exactly what they did on Sunday, exploding for a season-high 73 points en route to an eight-point victory over the Wolverines.
Senior standout Olivia Murphy poured in 25 points to lead the visitors, who converted 27 of 36 free throws in what head coach Caitlin Jamiel described as a “very long game.”
However, unlike in many of its recent losses, the offense finally displayed some balance, with freshman Eileen Khoury contributing a season-best 19 points, including four three-pointers, and senior guard Alana Pitts-Anaya adding 15 points.
Despite the scoring outburst, the game remained close well into the second half before Canton finally gained some separation down the stretch. It was a refreshing departure from the last few contests, in which the Bulldogs either ran out of time, as they did against Stoughton in a 56-46 loss, or dug themselves an early hole, which was the case on Friday against North Attleboro.
In the NA game, Canton actually outscored the Red Rocketeers 46-41 over the final three quarters, but they were done in by a brutal first quarter in which they managed only eight points.
The opposite was true on Tuesday against Stoughton, as the Bulldogs got it to within three with a minute remaining before the Black Knights converted several free throws to seal the win.
Not surprisingly, Murphy led the offense in both games, scoring 24 points against Stoughton and 22 against North Attleboro. Sarah Winkler also played well against NA, chipping in nine points.
Now 8-11, the Bulldogs will wrap things up this week against Norwood before shifting their attention to the playoffs, beginning with a likely preliminary round matchup on Monday, February 24.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=11795
Posted by Jay Turner
on Feb 22 2012. Filed under High School, Sports.
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