RallyNorth.net

Arlington Catholic eliminates North Andover

Wednesday, March, 04 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

ARLINGTON —  All Sue Breen could do was rub her temples. Her head hurt. And for good reason.

“We ran into a buzzsaw,” the North Andover coach said after her team fell to Arlington Catholic, 56-32, in the Division 2 North quarterfinals at Arlington High School.

“They come at you. You think you’re by two of them and the other one gets you.”

Still, it’s the farthest the Scarlet Knights (15-7) have advanced in the state tournament since 2005, when they went 20-3 and lost in the sectional semifinals.

“Our kids played well,” Breen said. “They just were a little jittered I think. (It was a) great season. Fifteen wins. We haven’t had that since 2005.”

North Andover scored the first two buckets of the game, but the Cougars went on a 14-2 run to close out the first quarter. The lead never dipped below seven points after intermission. Kelsey Roberson led Arlington Catholic with 17 points and Bryant College-bound Meredith Soper chipped in 12 points.

“I think they had about eight blocks in the second half,” Breen said. “They swarm.”

Jackie Sullivan was a bright spot for the Knights. The junior guard scored 13 points to help keep her team in it.

“Thank God we had Jackie,” Breen said. “And I thought this was Erika Zahoruiko’s (5 points) best game of the year too.”

Sullivan, to her credit, wasn’t interested in talking about herself. Nicole Zahoruiko’s (6 points) contributions over the past four seasons were just too great to ignore.

“She’s been the reason we’re so successful,” Sullivan said. “Her spirit at practice every day has just been incredible. She’s really held us together.”

The senior forward, already a two-time Eagle-Tribune All-Star, finishes her career as the North Andover girls program’s all-time leading scorer. Her 1,119 total points trumps 2005 graduate Amanda Shannon (1,058), the previous record holder.

With only Nicole Zahoruiko, Bri Connolly and Hillary Fonseca graduating, the Knights should be strong again next season.

“We’re very proud of these girls,” Breen said. “They played their hearts out. It just wasn’t our day.”