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Longmeadow makes quite a splash, entering this week's MIAA boys' lacrosse Top 25 poll at No. 11 while making its season debut.

The Lancers crack the rankings this week after notching a Top 25 victory over Central Mass Power Algonquin. However, they weren't the only Western Mass. squad entering the poll this week, as South Hadley -- only a half-game behind Longmeadow in the Wheel standings at 5-0 -- also makes its season debut at No. 22.

(Editors note: Rankings do not reflect Tuesday's results or the adjustment in records made in accordance with Foxborough's forfeited win over No. 12 Reading.)

A BIG WIN
Aside from Longmeadow, the team covering the most ground this week is Dover-Sherborn. The Raiders hop up 10 spots to No. 15 after a huge 6-3 win over Tri-Valley League rival Medfield -- showing why they're to team to beat (again) in Division 3. Now, we could have been more harsh on the Warriors, but we still believe Medfield is the team to beat in Division 2, so we're keeping them in the Top 10 at No. 7 -- for now. Also drawing a significant boost from a conference win last week is Andover, which moves up seven spots to No. 16 after a thrilling overtime victory over Merrimack Valley rival Billerica.

BILLERICA, Mass. -- Baseball is not a game that allows much time for reflection -- good or bad.

On Friday, Chelmsford was on the wrong side of a gut-wrenching, extra-inning loss to BC High. Such defeats usually have coaches wondering aloud about the overall mental state of their team’s psyche after such a calamitous loss. Lions coach Mike O’Keefe was no exception.

O’Keefe’s Lions returned to action Monday with a task equally as difficult as the one they encountered a short 72 hours prior. Against unbeaten Billerica, Chelmsford knew they had to get to get the bats off their shoulders to have any chance. The Lions also understood what a victory over their border rivals would do for their spiraling confidence.

Chelmsford rode that premise all the way to a 14-6 victory at Hall of Fame Field, after scoring nine runs in the third and adding five more in the fourth.

“One of the things we preach all the time here is you learn from the past but you can’t live in the past," O’Keefe said. “You learn from it, you let it go and you move on. We did that today. Our kids came out and swung the bats very well today. I know these kids have confidence in themselves but it has been lacking a little bit of late. Hopefully a game like this will improve our confidence a little more."

Falling behind 1-0 early, Chelmsford (6-3) took things over for good in the third by sending 13 batters to the plate. Billerica starter Robert Gambale was effective in his first two innings on the mound, but got punched around in the third as he allowed nine runs on nine hits and the Lions grabbed a 9-1 lead.

An RBI single off the bat of Mike DeDonato (3-for-4, three RBI) followed up by a run-producing triple from Russell Olive gave Chelmsford a 2-1 lead. The Lions bats, which finished with 16 hits overall, continued to pelt Gambale in the inning. Matt Rabbito doubled in Olive. Moments later Rabbito came around on Mike Rosa’s line single. The assault continued after Chelmsford loaded the bases. A fly out produced another run and DeDonato returned to the batters box and promptly blasted a two-run triple off the fence in right field.

“We knew coming in this was going to be a big test for us," said DeDonato, a junior. “That’s a great team we played and we knew we needed to come out swinging or else they would’ve put us away. Today we swung the bats well."

Reliever Chris Murphy took over for Gambale with two outs in the third, and was able to stop the bleeding for the time being. But entering the fourth, the junior righty wasn’t as fortunate. Murphy open things by issuing back-to-back walks and serving up a soft single to load the bases with nobody out. That set things up for sophomore Ben Sauter (three RBI), who drove in a pair with a hard single to right to make it 11-1.

Before the inning was over, the Lions plated three more courtesy of a Jack Campsmith single, a pass ball and an RBI single by Tommy Bishop, extending the lead to 13 runs.

The Indians (8-1) mustered a mini-comeback against Chelmsford right-hander Quinn Cooney in the fifth on the strength of a two-run double from Alec Mattar and an RBI single by Max Frawley. Billerica added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings but the deficit was much-to deep to crawl out from.

“It was great to see them battle back,” Indians coach Joe Higgins said. “Even though the score was so lopsided they never quit. This was just a stinker for us today. Hopefully it’s a wake up call. I hope these kids now realize they need to bear down and know they need to play every game hard right from the beginning.”

DUXBURY, Mass. -- Despite enormous turnover on the roster that left coach Chris Sweet with mostly first-year starters, the on-field product seems to indicate that members of the Duxbury lacrosse team must be acing their chemistry tests.

Both offensively and defensively, the Dragons showed tremendous cohesion and seemed to have a knack for anticipating where teammates would be despite having just half a season to get used to playing with one another.

That chemistry was certainly evident on the attack where senior C.J. LoConte and sophomore Mickey Fitzpatrick often set each other up, each finishing with three goals and two assists to lead top-ranked Duxbury to a 13-5 victory over nonleague rival Billerica at Calabrese Stadium Wednesday night.

Brendan Burke and Nick Sisioan each added a pair of goals for the Dragons (7-3), while Jeff Trainor paced the Indians (6-3) with two goals and an assist.

"It's definitely been a process but I think we're definitely starting to perfect it," LoConte said of the bond developing between himself and Fitzpatrick. "We've been working a lot after practice just feeding each other. We've been working pretty hard all year to perfect this."

That they've been working hard together was evident in the first quarter as LoConte scored twice, both with assists from Fitzpatrick, and the senior returned the favor by assisting on Fitzpatrick's tally as the Dragons built a 3-1 lead.

Fitzpatrick would add his second in transition and Burke scored off a turnover to push the Duxbury lead to 5-1 before Kyle Leclair stopped the bleeding for Billerica.

Duxbury junior Trevor O'Brien slowed any hopes of the Indians gaining momentum, athletically dodging his way through three Indians defenders to make it a 6-2 game. Freshman Drew Laundry scored a transition goal for Billerica and the Dragons closed the half on a score from Sisioan.

Despite strong efforts from faceoff man Kevin Farrell and goalie D.J. Smith (seven first-half saves), it was all Duxbury in the second half. LoConte (from Fitzpatrick), Bobby O'Brien and Burke all cashed in during the third, and Fitzpatrick (from LoConte) Hunter Marston and Sisioan buried chances in the fourth.

The Dragons formula was simple: once they got the ball, they didn't do anything to hurt themselves while relying on a terrific ride to force Billerica into making errors that they were able to exploit.

"We were patient with the ball," Sweet explained. "We did a great job of valuing possession and didn't mistakes by throwing the ball away and that's huge. Just be patient and let the other team make the mistakes and then capitalize on them."

Added Indians coach Craig Flynn, "I don't know if it was their ride or if we were just dropping balls. We were just throwing the ball away and giving them the ball right back." We had a tough time winning the faceoffs at first. Kevin was beating them on the initial faceoff but on the loose ball fight, we were losing the ball on that. D.J. [Smith] played great in that first quarter. We just didn't help him enough defensively."

The NHL Central Scouting service released its final rankings of North American skaters and goaltenders ahead of the NHL Draft Wednesday morning.

Former Malden Catholic standout and Valley Junior Warriors (EJHL) product Ryan Fitzgerald leads the New England skaters, checking in at No. 56.

Here's the list of skaters with local ties who made the cut:

(The full list can be found here):

SKATERS:
56. C Ryan Fitzgerald, Valley Junior Warriors (EJHL - Malden Catholic, North Reading), Previous Ranking - 46
60. LW Zach Sanford, Islanders (EJHL - Pinkerton Academy, Auburn, N.H.), Previous Ranking - 83
75. D Anthony Florentino, South Kent School, Previous Ranking - 79
94. C Nick Huthinson, Avon Old Farms, Previous Ranking - 133
97. LW/C Jason Salvaggio, South Kent School, Previous Ranking - 90
104. D Wiley Sherman, Hotchkiss School, Previous Ranking - 125
109. C Brian Pinho, St. John's Prep, Previous Ranking - 117
138. LW Miles Wood, Noble and Greenough, Previous Ranking - 163
169. D Ryan Segalla, Salisbury School, Previous Ranking - 136
182. C John Stevens, Salisbury School, Previous Ranking - 162
185. D Connor Light, Phillips Andover, Previous Ranking - 178
186. RW Ross Olsson, Cedar Rapids (USHL - Billerica Memorial), Previous Ranking - 121
187. LW Tyler Hill, Chicago (USHL - Hotchkiss), Previous Ranking - 85
195. C Daniel LaFontaine, Avon Old Farms, Previous Ranking - 172
198. D Quin Pompi, Berkshire, Previous Ranking - 160
201. RW Thomas Aldworth, Cushing Academy, Previous Ranking - Unranked
206. D Tyler Wood, Noble and Greenough, Previous Ranking - 197

GOALTENDERS:
15. Shane Starrett, South Kent School (Catholic Memorial), Previous Ranking - 35
26. Merrick Madsen, Proctor Academy, Previous Ranking - 34

Attackmen:
Tyler Bogart, Soph., Catholic Memorial
Jordan Dow, Sr., Lincoln-Sudbury
Jay Drapeau, Jr., Westford Academy
Brandon Jaeger, Sr., Dover-Sherborn
C.J. LoConte, Sr., Duxbury
Andrew Melvin, Sr., Medfield
Nick Menzel, Jr., Archbishop Williams
Nico Panepinto, Sr., Needham
Robbie Pisano, Sr., Needham
Tyler Reilly, Sr., Grafton
Andrew Smiley, Jr., St. John’s (Shrewsbury)

Midfielders:
Kevin Bletzer, Jr., Catholic Memorial
Will Blumenberg, Soph., Concord-Carlisle
Caleb Brodie, Jr., Hingham
Alec Brown, Sr., Wakefield
Tucker Ciessau, Sr., Scituate
Dan Delaney, Sr., Lincoln-Sudbury
Henry Guild, Sr., Lincoln-Sudbury
Carson Hart, Sr., Wayland
Davis Kraft, Sr., Algonquin
Matt LaCroix, Sr., Westfield
Drew O’Connell, Jr., St. John’s Prep
Mikey Panepinto, Jr., Needham
Kieran Presley, Sr., Amherst
Bryan Rotartori, Sr., Grafton
Jack Wheeler, Jr., Xaverian

Long-stick Midfielders:
Nick Brozowski, Jr., Concord-Carlisle
Mike Elcock, Jr., Needham
D.J. George, Sr., Arlington Catholic
John Sexton, Jr., Lincoln-Sudbury

Defensemen:
Evan Boynton, Sr., Concord-Carlisle
Tim Gillis, Soph., Cohasset
Brian Uva, Sr., St. John’s Prep
Luc Valenza, Sr., Foxborough
Jay Walsh, Sr., Duxbury
Tyler Weeks, Sr., Andover
Ian Yanulis, Sr., BC High

Goaltender:
Andrew Blood, Jr., Walpole
Matt Comerford, Sr., Reading
Ryan Goodall, Sr., Dover-Sherborn
Nick Marrocco, Jr., Duxbury
Giles Ober, Sr., Algonquin
Jake Reynolds, Jr., Scituate
D.J. Smith, Sr., Billerica
Robert Treiber, Jr., Medfield
Tighe Van Lenten, Sr., Masconomet

STONEHAM, Mass. -- Emily Lissner has proven to be more than just a complementary piece on Woburn's top line. She's shown that she is a perfect fit as someone who can be the focal point of the game-plan as well.

Lissner struck for three goals and linemates Kayla Smith and Ashley Moran each recorded assists on two of them as the to-ranked Tanners advanced to the Div. 1 semifinals with a 3-2 victory over No. 9 Billerica last night at Stoneham Arena.

Woburn (19-0-3) takes on nonleague rival and No. 4 seed St. Mary's in Saturday's semifinal round.

"Emily [Lissner] has turned into a big-time player," Woburn head coach Bob MacCurtain said. "To watch her develop since grade nine has been pretty fun. From a coaching perspective, she's been terrific. She had a great night tonight. Sometimes I think the other two [Smith and Moran] get a lot of the attention on that first line, but she's every bit as smart as either one of them."

One thing is for certain, the three talented Tanner forwards have clicked together as a unit. Despite Billerica (16-6-1) grabbing the early courtesy of standout Christie Caliendo, Woburn was able to quickly assume command and maintain it through the remainder of the game.

Lissner got her first goal thanks to a terrific feed from Smith behind the Indians net, and Lissner was able to stick the one-timer home despite having a pair of defenders draped across her back. In the second period, the junior got the go-ahead goal after Smith and Moran cycled the puck in her direction, and then added a power play goal off another feed from Moran at 6:40.

"We've been playing together all fall and summer and we've finally hit a point where we don't have those kids of miustakes," Lissner said of her emergence on the Tanners' top line. "In the fall, we were still trying to figure each other out so I think we got those games out of the way before we got here. Now, after 22 games, we don't have those mistakes any more that we used to make. I think it's working well."

Billerica's freshman goalie Amanda Burns may have been the co-star of the game, keeping her team close and making a number of spectacular stops among her 30 saves. The Indians did manage to get one late as Rachel Peacock pushed one through a scramble with 26 seconds left, but the Tanners were able to hold on.

BILLERICA, Mass. -– After losing in the first round of the 2012 MIAA state tournament Billerica senior leaders Brittany Lomanno and Danielle Nickerson knew that this year had to be different.

“Having eight returners back this year, we all knew the heartbreak we had when lost to a lower seed in the first round last year,” Nickerson said after the game.

No. 2 Billerica (19-2) took one step closer to their ultimate goal as they defeated a tough No. 15 Lincoln-Sudbury (11-10) team 66-49 on Wednesday night in the First Round of the Division 1 North sectional.

“Every day at practice we are focused,” Lomanno added. “We are keying on our defense, which has been really good for us this year. We made huge stops, got the rebounds, got the ball up in transition and were patient on offense.”

Billerica came out of the gate poised as they executed possessions and moved the ball efficiently to take a 21-10 lead after one quarter of play.

L-S would not back down, however, as they kept the game within reach, trailing 35-30 at the half and narrowing the gap early in the third quarter.

Lomanno would steady the game for Billerica, as they battled through a third quarter rut that saw L-S draw to within two points at 39-37 with 3:15 remaining in the quarter.

“I tried to keep the poised out there tonight and run the offense effectively,” Lomanno said.

Billerica went on an 8-2 run to end the third quarter and lead 47-39 heading to the fourth.

“We needed to be more patient on offense,” Billerica head coach Chris Doneski said. “We are pretty good at running the flex offense and by the third or fourth quarter we start to grind teams down but we have to get there. I talked to them about just being patient and I think we did that.”

The fourth quarter belonged to Billerica, as they outscored L-S 19-10 the final eight minutes of play. Nickerson and Lomanno would both nail shot clock-beating 3-pointers down the stretch to seal the victory and help Billerica advance to the Division 1 North quarterfinals.

Nickerson scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Lomanno added 13 points to go with four assists.

“Brittany really controls the game for us,” Doneski said. “Nellie really does a great job underneath the basket. She is able to step out and hit some shots if she needs to and when we really needed baskets in the game the ball seemed to find her.”

Senior center Joslyn King and senior guard Kayla Leverone also contributed to the strong Billerica defensive effort as both seniors stepped up in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.

“We knew they were going to be tough,” Doneski said. “They have a lot of girls who are athletic and they were an extremely difficult team to play against.”

Ashley Lutz led L-S on the night as the Lafayette-bound senior scored 14 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

Billerica will take on No. 7 Masconomet seed, which defeated No. 10 seed Cambridge, 64-62 on Wednesday night. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Billerica Memorial High School.

All-Purpose Effort: Billerica junior guard Shannon Hayes scored 10 of 14 points in the first half and also drew the challenging task of guarding Ashley Lutz.

“Shannon is always a presence out there for us,” Lomanno said of Hayes. “She hit a few shots but was obviously a big defensive presence out their for us tonight.”

The 5-foot-6 Hayes followed the 6-foot-1 Lutz around the court and gave her a different, smaller look on the perimeter and in the post.

Role Players: Billerica’s bench has improved drastically over the course of the season. The trust that Doneski has in them is evident as they gave the team a lift during the middle quarters of the game.

Billerica received strong efforts from sophomore forward Lilly Coppinger, junior forward Alex Napoli, and sophomore guards Caroline Gillis and Lexie Mattar.

“That was our big question this year, our depth,” Nickerson said. “They proved it they we are deep. We have trust in them as they have trust in us.”

Bright Future: Despite losing Ashley Lutz to graduation, L-S returns most of its core unit, led by a strong sophomore class.

L-S returns four of their five starters as sophomore point guard Kristen Ngan (four steals), sophomore center Olivia Canning (five rebounds), junior guard Jody Henkels (six points) and sophomore guard Emma Lutz (12 points) lead a group of 10 returnees next season for head coach Liza Feldman.

WELLESLEY, Mass. -– When the schedule was released for the Comcast IAABO Board 27 Classic, the opening game on the docket raised the eyebrows of many who follow Massachusetts high school girl’s basketball.

Catholic Central League champion No. 2 Archbishop Williams and Merrimack Valley Conference Large champion No. 4 Billerica opened Sunday’s tournament at Babson College in front of a packed house.

After 32 minutes of grinding, defensive basketball it was Archbishop Williams (17-4) who came out on top as they outlasted Billerica, 45-39, in the first girls semifinal game.

Archies started and finished the game strong despite Billerica hanging tough throughout. Both teams employed various zone and match-up defenses that helped dictate the pace of the low-scoring affair.

Archies junior guard Leah Spencer scored seven of her game-high 13 points in the opening quarter, as Archies took a 14-7 lead out of the gate.

Billerica (16-2) trailed for most of the game, until the final quarter of play when they battled back to tie it at 36-36. The Indians overcame a clear height advantage to get to loose balls and grind their way back into the contest.

“Some shots started to fall in the second half,” Billerica head coach Chris Doneski said after the game. “We are usually pretty good at being able to score on the interior but their size really took a lot of that away.”

With 4:37 remaining in the game and the game tied at 36-36, Archies ran off seven straight points in less than two minutes to give them the momentum and cushion to hold on for the win.

Archbishop Williams converted 10-of-13 free throws in the final quarter of play to hold off any final comeback attempt.

Playing their third game in four days, Archbishop Williams battled through some fatigue to get the necessary defensive stops down the stretch.

“This is our third game in four days against three good teams,” Archbishop Williams head coach Jim Bancroft said. “We will take the win and hopefully be ready to go for tomorrow.”

Archies sophomore forward Alana Gilmer scored eight points, grabbed nine rebounds and had four steals in the win. Junior forward Olivia Conrad (10 points) and sophomore center Jaylen Williams (10 rebounds, four blocks) were also key factors in the paint for Archies.

Billerica was led by senior center Joslyn King (10 points, 13 rebounds). King played her best basketball in Billerica’s fourth quarter comeback run. Senior guard Brittany Lomanno and senior forward Danielle Nickerson both had eight points for the Indians.

Clutch Senior: Archie’s senior guard Sara Ryan was big down the stretch with two steals and five points -- including a pivotal and-one conversion, in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.

The Southern New Hampshire University-bound Ryan scored 10 points to go with four steals on the afternoon.

“She has been on Varsity for four years so she understands what we are trying to,” Bancroft added. “She steps in and talks to the team at the half and at timeouts and gives the team positive feedback. She has turned out to be a really good leader.”

Monday’s match-ups: No. 2 Archbishop Williams will take on No. 1 Reading in Monday’s final. The two top teams in ESPN Boston’s latest girls poll will tip at 2:30 p.m. at Babson.

Reading defeated Natick 64-40 n the second semi-final game. Richmond-bound forward Olivia Healy (30 points) and junior guard Bridget Clements (14 points, all in the first half) led the way for the Rockets.

The consolation game between Billerica and Natick starts the final day of action at 1 p.m.

The Division I girls basketball season is more than halfway over, and the question many people are asking is this: Just how good is Pinkerton Academy?

Pinkerton wasn't mentioned among the favorites when the season began, but the Astros are the lone unbeaten team in the division. Pinkerton raised its record to 10-0 by beating Manchester Central, 71-43, Friday night.

Pinkerton leads a pack of contenders that includes Bishop Guertin (9-1), Nashua North (9-1), Bedford (10-2) and Londonderry (8-2).

“The reality is we have not played any of the top four teams – BG, Londonderry, North and Bedford,” Pinkerton head coach John Barry said. “So not playing the top four teams makes the (10-0) record a little deceptive. We have some serious weaknesses that may show up when we play those teams.

“I'd be stupid not to like (the 10-0 start). We felt it was attainable, but I'm a realist and I'm practical about things.”

Senior point guard Samantha Breslin is the only senior on the Pinkerton roster. The Astros have been winning with a balanced offense, and a defense that has held seven of its 10 opponents to less than 40 points.

“If any one of my players tries to do too much by themselves we have problems,” Barry said. “When they play together, they're good. We're not a team based on one star.”

Any question about where Pinkerton fits in Division I should be answered in the first half of February. On Feb. 1 the Astros begin a four-game stretch that features games against Londonderry, Nashua North, BG and Bedford.

“They will play the top teams tough,” Manchester Central head coach Mike Wenners said. “They're more than capable of beating anybody.”

GAGNE HEADED TO WESTFORD ACADEMY
Adam Gagne has resigned as Salem High School's football coach to become the head coach at Westford (Mass.) Academy.

Salem was 0-11 last season, Gagne's only season as the program's head coach. Gagne teaches and coaches freshman basketball at Westford Academy.

"While I thoroughly enjoyed my time coaching at Salem, the opportunity to teach and coach at Westford Academy was something I had to take advantage of," Gagne said. "I am very grateful for this great opportunity and I'm excited to get started."

Gagne, who lives in Haverhill, Mass, was an assistant coach at Westford Academy under Rich McKenna for three seasons before he was hired to replace Jack Gati as Salem's head coach. Gagne was also an assistant coach at Merrimack College from 2003 to 2009.

McKenna recently became the head coach at Billerica (Mass.) High.

Gati resigned following the 2011 season, after guiding Salem to a 121-77 record and two state championships during his 18 seasons at the school. Gati has also served as the head coach at Trinity (1978-85) and Concord (1986-93). He has a 221-138 career record with four state championships (1987, 1989, 1995 and 2009).

BERLIN MEETING LITTLE RESISTANCE
No New Hampshire high school hockey team has a stronger pedigree than Berlin, which has made 27 championship game appearances and claimed nine titles since 1947. Lack of participation prompted Berlin to drop from Division I to Division III following the 2011-12 season, however, and the Mountaineers have established themselves as the clear team to beat in their new division.

At 11-0, Berlin is the only unbeaten team in Division III. The Mountaineers have outscored their opponents 79-13, and six of their 11 victories have been shutouts.

Connor Jewett is the team's offensive leader. Through 10 games Jewett led the state in scoring with 30 goals and 19 assists.

JENNESS NOTCHES RARE FEAT
White Mountains Regional girls basketball coach Gary Jenness collected his 600th career victory Friday night when White Mountains defeated Berlin, 47-20. White Mountains improved its Division III record to 12-0 with the win.

Jenness, who is in his 39th season as a head coach, guided White Mountains to a 56-51 triumph over Campbell in last year's Division III championship game. The victory ended Campbell's 39-game winning streak and handed White Mountains its first state title since 1999.

Roger Brown is a staff writer for the New Hampshire Union Leader, and has been covering high school sports throughout New England since 1992.

We updated our statewide MIAA Top 25 girls basketball poll last night. To view it, CLICK HERE.

A few notes and observations about this week's poll:

New No. 1: With Braintree taking a surprise upset loss at the hands of Newton North on Tuesday, we've got a new No. 1 for the first time all season long. Reading slides up one spot to No. 1, while Archbishop Williams bumps up to No. 2, followed by the aformetioned Wamps (3), Pentucket (4) and Billerica (5). For its upset effort, North moves up four spots to No. 7, one behind unbeaten Oliver Ames (6), followed by Lynn English (8), Central Catholic (9) and St. Mary's of Lynn (10).

Masco makes its debut: Following its 52-41 upset of North Andover on Sunday, Masconomet makes its first appearance in the poll since our final Top 25 last March. The Chieftains are the third Cape Ann League team represented in the poll, joining Pentucket and Ipswich (20).

Here's how the poll breaks down this week by league affiliation:

Cape Ann - 3
Catholic Central - 3
Merrimack Valley - 3
Bay State - 2
Mid-Wach A - 2
Bi-County - 1
Central Mass. Conference - 1
Dual County - 1
Eastern Athletic - 1
Hockomock - 1
Independent - 1
Middlesex - 1
Northeastern - 1
Patriot - 1
South Shore - 1
Suburban - 1
Tri-Valley - 1

We updated our statewide girls basketball MIAA Top 25 poll this afternoon. To see it, CLICK HERE.

A few notes and observations about this week's poll:

Debuts for Hamp, Duxbury, Abington, Lee: We've got three new entrants to the poll this week, with Northampton, Duxbury, Lee and Abington all making their season debuts. Hamp is coming off two solid wins over Amherst and Chicopee, while Duxbury and Abington stand alone in first in the Patriot and South Shore leagues, respectively.

Meanwhile Lee, one of the golden standards of girls basketball in Massachusetts, is off to yet another hot start, with a 6-2 overall record and 4-0 mark in their league. Since 1989, the Wildcats have made 13 appearances in the Division 3 state final, winning seven times (1989-91, 1993, 1997, 2003, 2010). Lee, along with No. 17 Sabis (11-0), appears to be a D3 West favorite yet again.

Billerica makes a splash: One week after surviving North Andover in a thriller, Billerica was up to its heartbreaking antics once again, nipping Central Catholic 57-55 last Friday to take first place in the Merrimack Valley Conference's first division. For their efforts, the Indians come in at No. 5 this week, their first Top 5 appearance in poll history. The only team to beat Billerica this season, Pentucket, also moves up one spot to No. 4 following St. Mary's of Lynn's loss to Archbishop Williams on Saturday.

Here's how the poll breaks down this week by league affiliation:

Catholic Central - 3
Merrimack Valley - 3
Bay State - 2
Cape Ann - 2
Berkshire County - 1
Bi-County - 1
Mid-Wach A - 1
Central Mass. Conference - 1
Dual County - 1
Eastern Athletic - 1
Hockomock - 1
Independent - 1
Middlesex - 1
Northeastern - 1
Patriot - 1
South Shore - 1
Tri-Valley - 1
Valley Wheel - 1

Valley Junior Warriors and former Malden Catholic standout center Ryan Fitzgerald leads the list of locals on the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings of North American skaters for the 2013 NHL Draft, which were released today.

Fitzgerald, who has 13 goals for 14 points for 27 points through 22 games with the Warriors, was ranked 46th on the list released Tuesday morning.

Here's the complete list of New England skaters making the grade:

46. Ryan Fitzgerald, C, Valley Jr. Warriors - EJHL (North Reading, Mass. - Malden Catholic)
79. Anthony Florentino, D, South Kent School
83. Zach Sanford, LW, Islanders - EJHL (Pinkerton Academy)
85. Tyler Hill, LW, Hotchkiss School
90. Jason Salvaggio, C/LW, South Kent School (Hanson, Mass. - Xaverian Brothers)
117. Brian Pinho, C, St. John's Prep
120. Eddie Ellis, LW, Phillips Andover (Burlington, Mass.)
121. Ross Olsson, RW, Lincoln - USHL (Billerica, Mass.)
125. Wiley Sherman, D, Hotchkiss School
133. Nick Hutchinson, C, Avon Old Farms
136. Ryan Segalla, D, Salisbury School
160. Quin Pompi, D, Berkshire School
163. Miles Wood, LW, Noble and Greenough
172. Daniel LaFontaine, C, Avon Old Farms
178. Connor Light, D, Phillips Andover
191. Mark Hamilton, D, Salisbury School
197. Tyler Wood, D, Noble and Greenough

Goaltenders:

34. Merrick Madsen, Proctor Academy
35. Shane Starrett, South Kent School (Bellingham, Mass. - Catholic Memorial)

LAWRENCE, Mass. -– In a Merrimack Valley Conference showdown featuring two of the premier teams in the state, you knew it would come down to the end, and possibly the last possession.

That is exactly what happened as No. 6 Billerica (8-1) was able to sneak away with a win over No. 9 Central Catholic (7-2), 57-55 on the Raiders’ home court.

Central Catholic trailed 56-55 with 13.2 seconds remaining and the ball at half court. The Raiders got the ball to their leader, senior Casey McLaughlin, on the right block. But Indians center Joslyn King was up for the challenge, blocking McLaughlin’s shot attempt, giving her team a hard-earned win.

“I didn’t want to foul her, but I knew I needed to do something. So I figured I just needed to try and get a hand on the ball,” said King, one of the Indians’ five seniors.

King’s block was almost as dramatic as the possession prior down the other end of the court. Billerica had the ball under their own hoop trailing 55-54 with 17.2 seconds to play.

Although the play didn’t go as planned, the ball ended up in junior Shannon Hayes’ hands under the basket, and her lay-in gave the Indians their first lead of the game since early in the first quarter.

“The play was designed to go to (Brittany) Lamanno on the outside for a jump shot or if she could, get to the basket," Billerica coach Chris Doneski said. "Our second option was a dump down to our center Joslyn (King), but I’ll take it anyway we can get it.”

Billerica’s last lead before the basket was just over four minutes into the game at 6-4. The Indians battled back all game long, cutting the lead to one three times during the final quarter until Hayes’ hoop in the final seconds gave them the lead for good with Lonanno adding a free throw in the final seconds to seal the win.

“I thought they showed a lot of resiliently as we were down virtually the whole game,” Doneski said. “They kept fighting until we clawed it out there at the end.”

Despite being down virtually the entire game, King had an inkling her team would somehow pull out a win.

“In the back of my mind I thought we were going to win, but there was always a little doubt,” she said. “We played hard and came out with a win. That’s all that counts.”

The Raiders led 17-11 after the opening quarter, 33-25 at halftime and 43-40 entering the fourth, but finally poor rebounding caught up to them and too many second chance points allowed the Indians to climb back into the game.

“The bottom line is we gave up way too many second chances tonight,” said Central Catholic coach Sue Downer. “The boards absolutely killed us. You can’t do that. Those were some crucial points we gave up in the game. Those can’t happen.”

It was a balanced attack for the Indians as seven players recorded points. Leading the way was senior forward Danielle Nickerson, who finished with 15 points, followed by Hayes who had 13.

The matchup was a rematch of last year’s first round of the MIAA tournament where Central beat the Indians 63-57. Billerica wasn’t necessarily looking for revenge, as they just wanted to get a win.

“It’s great for us, I mean we had a great season last year,” Doneski said. “We weren’t thinking about payback, we were just thinking of going out there and getting a win against a good team. We’re tied for first place right now, so we knew how important it was to steal one on their home court.”

Downer and Central Catholic knew coming in it was going to be a hard fought battle.

“A lot of these girls play together and know each other so we knew it was going to be a battle,” she said. “It’s two good teams fighting. I’d like to think we’d play multiple times and my team would win multiple times, but it’s going to be a battle every time we play them. There were some things down the stretch we didn’t do well. We have to do better to learn how to win these games.”

Judging by how well both teams played Friday night, one shouldn’t rule out a similar outcome next time around.

MCLAUGHLIN LEADS CENTRAL

Senior captain Casey McLaughlin had a tremendous game for the Raiders despite the loss. She finished with a game-high 23 points, 10 coming in the final stanza. McLaughlin recorded all but nine of Central’s points in the second half.

“She’s very determined this season to do everything she can to win,” Downer said. “She is extremely upset in the locker room and she has every right to be. She is very emotional, and I cannot say enough how hard she works and the leadership she gives us every game. She wants to win so bad and we have to learn from these and figure out what we can do better.”

Junior guard Caitlin Dell’Ordano contributed 11 points (all in the first half) in the loss.

KING’S TOUGHNESS

Although Joslyn King only finished with eight points, she battled all game long, going toe-to-toe with McLaughlin. She even took an elbow to the mouth early in the fourth quarter, forcing her to the bench until the bleeding stopped.

She didn’t sit for long as she was right back in the game, eventually blocking McLaughlin’s last second shot, sending her team home with a win.

"It was hard (going back in), but I knew my teammates needed me so I had to be in there,” she said.

This is King’s fourth year on varsity and her toughness is something her and the coaches have been working on since her freshman season.

“She started out on varsity as a freshman and the biggest thing for her is we tried to install a little more toughness in her and she really showed that tonight,” Doneski said. “She played really hard and got banged up pretty good there at the end, but she really helped us down the stretch.”

We updated our statewide MIAA Top 25 girls basketball poll this afternoon. To see the complete poll, CLICK HERE.

A few notes and observations about this week's poll:

Pentucket jumps into Top 5: Following its 59-39 win over Billerica last Wednesday, Pentucket jumps up three spots to No. 5 in this week's poll. That gives us three Division 3 schools in the Top 5 of the poll: Archbishop Williams (3), St. Mary's of Lynn (4) and the aforementioned Sachems. The Sachems have a slew of quality shooters in their arsenal, but as usual it's John McNamara's press defenses that are the calling card of this year's squad, led by 6-foot senior Tess Nogueira.

Wachusett makes a splash: Debuting the poll this week is Wachusett, at No. 16, following a whirlwind week of three wins in four days. The Mountaineers took down No. 14 Holy Name in overtime on Jan. 2, then followed up with wins over Leominster and No. 20 Westford Academy on Friday and Saturday, respectively. That gives us three Central Mass. teams in the poll this week; joining Holy name and Wachusett is Algonquin at No. 23.

Here's how the poll breaks down this week by league affiliation:

Merrimack Valley - 4
Catholic Central - 3
Bay State - 2
Cape Ann - 2
Dual County - 2
Mid-Wach A - 2
Bi-County - 1
Central Mass. Conference - 1
Eastern Athletic - 1
Hockomock - 1
Independent - 1
Middlesex - 1
Northeastern - 1
Old Colony - 1
Suburban - 1
Tri-Valley - 1

BILLERICA, Mass. –- The Billerica Indians turned up the defensive intensity on Friday night as they held the North Andover Scarlet Knights to just 19 first half points on their way to a 67-55 victory.

“We have been trying to stress our defense because we have not been playing that well offensively,” Billerica head coach Chris Doneski said after the game. “I thought we did a great job coming out and defending in the first half.”

Billerica (6-1) jumped out to an early 11-1 lead with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Indians’ full court defensive pressure and half-court traps caused numerous turnovers and created frustration for the North Andover offense early in the contest.

Billerica led 13-6 after the first quarter and 27-19 at the half. The Indians held star senior guard Morgan Lumb to just five first half points. Seniors Brittany Lomanno and Danielle Nickerson each scored six points to lead Billerica at the half.

North Andover (6-1) and Lumb came out of the half with renewed energy and an extended full court defense of their own. Lumb was amazing in the third quarter as she scored 10 points, nabbed three steals and dished out two assists as North Andover came all the way back to earn their first lead of the game, 40-38, with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“You do the best you can with players like her (Lumb),” Doneski said. “We just tried to slow her down and even if you jump out on her she just does such a great job getting to the basket. She makes moves that you see a lot of guys making in game.”

Lomanno and guard Katie McGinnis would answer back with big shots to conclude the third quarter to give Billerica the 43-40 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

The fourth quarter would belong to Billerica as they executed crucial possessions, crashed the offensive glass and outscored North Andover 24-15 in the quarter to pull away with the win.

Billerica was led by Lomanno, who did a great job of controlling the game and also came up with big shots when Billerica needed them. The UMass Lowell-bound point guard scored nine of her game team-high 15 points in the second half to go along with four steals and two assists.

The University of Hartford-bound Lumb led North Andover with 19 points on the night. Senior guard Pam Coufos (10 points) and sophomore guard Leah Chittick (12 points) also played well for North Andover

Nickerson steps up: Nickerson had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Billerica. The senior forward was relentless on the offensive glass in the second half, pulling down four offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.

“That’s her M.O.,” Doneski said. “She does not get a lot of credit but the last two years she has been a double-double for us every time she shows up. She was really aggressive and tough down the stretch and I really thought that pushed us over the edge.”

Balanced effort: Billerica received strong contributions from all nine players who logged minutes. Seniors Kayla Leverone (eight points, six rebounds), Joslyn King (five points, six rebounds) and junior Alexa Napoli (six points, five rebounds) all did a great job controlling the glass for the Indians on the night.

Juniors Shannon Hayes (eight points), Lilly Coppinger (four points) and sophomore Caroline Gillis (four points, three assists) also played well for Billerica on the night.

Bouncing back: Billerica bounced back on Friday after suffering their first loss of the season to Pentucket on Wednesday night, 59-39.

“Pentucket and John McNamara have a very good team,” Doneski said. “They play defense at another level. We hung in and just ran out of gas down the end. Tonight we tried to turn the tables and apply our defensive pressure to them and it worked for the most part.”

Billerica’s tough early season schedule continues next week as they take on Westford Academy and Methuen at home on Thursday and Friday night respectively.

North Andover hosts Chelmsford on Tuesday night and travels to Lowell on Friday night.