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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.

Brighton High's Malik James and Reading High's Olivia Healy stopped by ESPNBoston.com's Foxborough office yesterday afternoon, where they were officially presented their trophies as the state's player of the year, the "Mr. Basketball" and "Miss Basketball" awards, respectively.

James, a 6-foot-1 point guard, was masterful in Brighton’s run to its first-ever MIAA Division 2 state championship in school history. He averaged 20 points per game over a six-game run through the tournament, which culminated with a 59-41 win over South Hadley in Saturday’s state final at Worcester’s DCU Center. Most dramatically, he led the Bengals to a comeback victory over Scituate in the Eastern Mass. final at TD Garden. Brighton trailed by 11 points with four minutes to go, but James sealed the victory with a three-point play with 1.8 seconds to go.

Healy, a 5-foot-10 guard/forward, led the state in scoring average (27.5 points per game), and shot 54.1 percent from the field -- including a 41 percent clip from three-point range. She also averaged 11.5 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 3.8 assists per game. She leaves Reading as the school's all-time leading scorer of either gender, at 1,897 points, breaking the previous mark set in 1985. In her four seasons with the Reading varsity, the Rockets went 86-7 with four Middlesex League titles, two MIAA Division 2 North titles, an Eastern Mass. Championship and the school's first-ever state title in 2012. The Rockets also endured a 48-game win streak, starting at the beginning of the 2011-12 season and snapping on March 11 in the Eastern Mass. Championship at TD Garden.

Both are expected to fulfill Division 1 aspirations following graduation. Healy signed a letter of intent with the University of Richmond last November, while James is expected to finish up next year at prep school. Yesterday, during the awards presentation, James received his first Division 1 scholarship offer, from Canisius College, for the 2014-15 season.

Defending Division 1 state champion Duxbury opens another season as the No. 1 team in our initial MIAA boys' lacrosse poll Top 25 poll.

The Dragons, despite losing 10 Division 1 recruits off of last year's team, are deep again and looking for their 10th state title in the last 11 years. They will surely face a stiff challenge from Lincoln-Sudbury, which checks in at No. 2, and boasts a host of Division 1 talent in its own right. Last year's Division 1 state runner-up Needham begins the season at No. 3

CROWDED IN D2
Once again, the Division 2 race should be one to watch. Defending state champion Concord-Carlisle gained the highest ranking by a D2 team, peaking at No. 5. But they'll field challenges throughout the year from a bunch of D2 teams huddled in the Top 10. Hingham claims the No. 6 spot, followed by Catholic Memorial (No. 7), Reading (No. 9) and Medfield (No. 10).

The Central Mass competition in the division will also be tightly contested with defending sectional champion Algonquin (No. 16), but look for Grafton to make a push, starting out at No. 18, and No. 23 St. John's (Shrewsbury) is always a force.

There is one lone Division 3 representative in our initial poll, with defending state champion Dover-Sherborn appearing at No. 13.

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

For the third straight year, the three-time defending Super 8 champion Malden Catholic Lancers finished No. 1 in our MIAA boys' hockey Top 25 poll.

After hovering around .500 for the first half of the season, the Lancers turned it and rolled through the Super 8 en route to another celebration on the TD Garden ice.

We pulled Catholic Memorial into the No. 2 spot with the belief that whichever team won the Catholic Conference duel in the Super 8 semifinals had an inside track. However, don't be surprised if the 2013-14 rankings kick off with Super 8 runner-up Austin Prep in the pole position.

MIDDLESEX DOMINANCE
Moving past the Super 8 teams populating the Top 10, the Middlesex League provides a strong middle class to the final poll. Beginning with No. 8 Reading (Super 8 team), four straight Middlesex League teams represent, with back-to-back Division 2 state champion Wilmington and two-time defending Division 1 champion Burlington round out the Top 10. Division 1 North runner-up Winchester checks in at No. 11.

The Middlesex League led all conferences with six representing teams in the final poll (including No. 19 Melrose and No. 20 Wakefield).

Wilmington (D2) was ranked ahead of Burlington (D1) on the strength of two regular-season conference wins. The Wildcats will join fellow Div. 2 finalist Franklin (No. 17) in the Div. 1 poll next year.

In its 28th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Olivia Healy of Reading Memorial High School as its 2012-13 Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Healy is the first Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Reading Memorial High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Healy as Massachusetts’s best high school girls basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award announced in March, Healy joins an elite alumni association of past state girls basketball award-winners, including Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Diana Taurasi (1998-99 & 1999-00, Don Antonio Lugo HS, Calif.), Maya Moore (2005-06 Collins Hill HS, Ga.), Rashanda McCants (2004-05, Asheville HS, N.C.), Shyra Ely (1999-00, Ben Davis HS, Ind.) and Lisa Leslie (1988-89, Morningside HS, Calif.).

The 5-foot-10 senior guard/forward averaged 27.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.3 steals, 3.8 assists and 2.0 blocks per game this past season, leading the Warriors (23-1) to the Division 2 state semifinals. A three-time Middlesex League Player of the Year, Healy is also a two-time Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic and ESPN Boston All-State, and led Reading to the 2012 Division 2 state title. She concluded her prep basketball career with a school-record 1,899 points.

Healy has maintained a 3.27 GPA in the classroom. She has participated in an anti-bullying video as part of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association 12th Annual Student Sportsmanship Essay/Multimedia Contest and has volunteered locally as part of a fundraising campaign to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in addition to donating her time as a youth basketball and volleyball coach.

“Olivia Healy does anything and everything necessary for her team to win,” said Steve Sullivan, head coach at Woburn High. “She is putting up incredible stats while doing all the little things necessary to help her team win in spite of being the focal point of every defense she plays.”

Healy has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Richmond beginning this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Healy joins recent Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Basketball Players of the Year Nicole Boudreau (2011-12 & 2010-11, Andover High School), Lauren Battista (2009-10, Oliver Ames), Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir (2008-09, New Leadership Charter School), Felicia Barron (2007-08, Springfield Central), and Carolyn Swords (2006–07, Lincoln-Sudbury) among the state’s list of former award winners.

LOWELL, Mass. -- Entering the season, everyone knew that Austin Prep a serious collection of talent. The knock against the Cougars was that they were very young, and that their defense might not be up to par with its offense.

As the winter progressed, those blueliners have vastly improved and grown into their roles, and because of how that unit performed in the postseason, the statement "AP is maybe a year or two away" no longer applies.

Led by senior Zach Fuller and junior Andrew Cross, the Cougars defense turned in perhaps its finest performance of the season and were a key factor in Austin's 2-1 victory over St. John's Prep in the second Div. 1A semifinal at Tsongas Center Tuesday night.

"Our defense the second half of the season has really turned it up,' praised AP head coach Louis Finocchiaro. "Andrew Cross has been playing phenomenally all year. Zach Fuller over the second half of the season has really come up big for us a senior defenseman. J.J. Layton, Matty Morgan, Leachy [Brendan Leach] and Kevin Kiley... they're playing well on that back end and no one gave them any credit in the beginning of the season. They said we couldn't win hockey games because we weren't good defensively but you know what? They're proving some people wrong and doing a fabulous job."

Throughout the Super 8, most of the focus in Austin's victories has been on goalie Elijah Harris, and rightly so. Harris was nothing short of spectacular in the two victories over Reading, and it was assumed that for Austin to have a chance against the top-seeded Eagles, Harris would have to steal it.

Instead, the defense made his life easier. Harris made 27 saves in the game but he didn't have to be spectacular like he was against Reading thanks to his defense. They did a terrific job of limiting the Prep from home run chances, they cleared the puck out of the zone often and kept the shooting lanes free and clear for Harris to do his job behind them.

A key cog in the maturation of the Cougars defense has been Cross. The junior spent two years at Malden Catholic, who will be AP's opponent in the championship game, before transferring over to Austin. His steady presence on the ice and guiding voice in the locker room has been invaluable to the rest of the young Cougars and that group is playing its best at the right time.

"I know we're very young," Cross admitted after Wednesday's game. "They've learned a lot from Coach [Finocchiaro] and I've taught them a couple of things myself about the high school game. Coming from playing select hockey and coming up to high school, thats a huge difference. We've grown as the year's gone on and playing against better competition makes you better every day. The forwards we have coming down at us in practice one on one, it's tough so we have very talented guys to up against."

AP OFFENSE DOES ITS PART
Speaking of those talented forwards, they had to come through as well and the Cougars top line really shined on this stage. After a scoreless first period, the two teams looked to be headed toward another goose egg n the scoreboard in the second until, with just under six minutes remaining. Eric MacAdams delivered a perfect feed to Nolan Vesey (2 goals) for an open look that AP on the board first.

St. John's Prep answered in the third as Tyler Bird stuffed home a rebound at 6:46 and finally began to show signs of reminding everyone why they were the state's top-ranked squad for most of the season. With just 2:40 remaining, MacAdams was hauled down on a breakaway that gave the Cougars a power play, and they cashed in on a flukey bounce.

Bob Carpenter fired a shot from the right wing circle that was tipped by Cam Russo and the puck went up into the air toward the far post where Vesey was camped with St. John's senior captain Brent Murray. Vesey's stick went up at the same time as Murray's glove, and the puck went off the blue-liners hands and dropped down into the net to give Austin a 2-1 lead with 2:11 remaining.

"It was a power play and I ended up on my off side," explained Vesey. "The puck went back to Bobo Carpenter and he let a rip go. My linemate, Cam Russo, tipped it, kind of went up in the air and their defenseman's glove and my stick went up and I couldn't even tell you. I closed my eyes then I saw the puck go over the line. Thats all that matters."

The Eagles pulled goalie Billy Price (18 saves) with just over a minute remaining for the extra skater, but Harris came through with a pair of big saves in the closing seconds to finish it off.

"I thought we played a pretty good game," Eagles head coach Kristian Hanson said. "Did we play a great game? No, but I thought we played well enough to win. We've had difficulty all year capitalizing and tonight it came back to bite us. You can blame it on a number of different things but bottom line is we didn't finish and they scored one more goal than we did. It doesn't matter how it goes in, they all count the same."

For Austin Prep, there is no waiting for next year. Their time has come now.

"Obviously its great experience and for them it took a while to believe in themselves and to know how to win big games," Finocchiaro said. "It was a learning process for us and halfway through the season, we were like, 'We don't know if its going to come.' We thought it might not come this year and we may have to wait until next year because we were up and down, we were like a rollercoaster. But then our last four games of the season, we've played really well right through tonight. They got some confidence going, they believe in themselves.

"St. John's Prep is a tremendous hockey team. They've been the number one hockey team all year long and for us to beat them tonight is a huge accomplishment."

LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday will hold extra special meaning to several Cougars, including Finocchiaro, who was a disciple of the late Chris Serino. Cross was a regular in the rotation during Malden Catholic's run to a second straight title a season ago. Now he stands as the top defenseman for Austin Prep and he knows a lot of eyes will be on him from now until Sunday.

"I'm looking forward to this game," Cross said with a smile. "I didn't think it was going to happen this way. It's going to be a dramatic game playing against my old teammates. I've known a bunch of them since I was probably about seven years old, I've been playing against them my whole life. We've just got to work hard at practice and go over the systems. We played them once already and we gave them a game. We didn't like the outcome (MC won, 4-3 in OT during the Chris Serino Holiday Tournament) the first time so we're going to be looking for some revenge."

And while MC has overcome its midseason struggles and once again looks like the team to beat, don;t think for a second that Austin Prep plans to lay down for them on the TD Garden ice.

"They won it the last two years," Vesey said almost defiantly. "There's not going to be a third time."

EASTERN MASS. FINALS

Boys

D1: Mansfield (24-2) vs. Central Catholic (21-5)
Brendan Hall: Whatever the fourth-quarter lead is, you might as well double it. Both squads are terrific finishing teams. Still, it’s hard for me to go against The Illuminati. Pick: Mansfield
Chris Bradley: The way Central Catholic is playing defensively, they can’t be beaten by anybody in the state. Tyler Nelson is on another level from pretty much any guard in the state in terms of playmaking, while his backcourt mate Lucas Hammel is great on-ball defender. Pick: Central Catholic

D2: Brighton (19-6) vs. Scituate (21-3)
Hall: Last month I said that whoever came out of the D2 North tournament would be battle-tested enough to run the table. Brighton came back stronger than ever after last season’s disappointment, and they are playing as well as any right now. Malik James has been playing his way into Super Team consideration at this current clip. Pick: Brighton
Bradley: Brighton’s toughest tests of the Division 2 tournament have passed—the Bengals beat Melrose and North Andover, two of the best teams in the state. A great season by Scituate, but I can’t see any of the teams left in the Division 2 field hanging with Brighton. Pick: Brighton

D3: Danvers (22-2) vs. Martha’s Vineyard (18-5)
Hall: Save a bad weekend at the Comcast Tournament, Falcons have survived every test given to them this season. With the Vineyard, there is always the element of the great unknown. We know the Vineyarders can run, but so can the Falcons. Pick: Danvers
Bradley: What a run by the Vineyard, beating Wareham in the D3 South final. That being said, Danvers has proven that they are hands-down the best team in the state. Expect a few treys each from Nick McKenna, Nick Bates, and Vinny Clifford. Pick: Danvers

Lynnfield (16-7) vs. Bishop Connolly (18-6)
Hall: Pulling for Scott Barboza’s alma mater to get some hardware here. Pick: Connolly
Bradley: Connolly has a slew of quick, athletic guards who can score and put a lot of pressure on opposing teams defensively. I foresee Lynnfield struggling with that pressure. Pick: Bishop Connolly

Girls

D1: Braintree (24-2) vs. Central Catholic (20-5)
Hall: Defense wins championships, and the Wamps have one of the best defensive players around in Bay State Conference MVP Bridget Herlihy. Four of the Wamps’ five starters are sophomores or younger, including Herlihy, yet this is one of the tallest lineups in the state. Gonna be fun to watch this crew the next few years. Pick: Braintree.
Bradley: Make it another sweep for Central Catholic boys and girls in the state semifinals. I’m calling upset here, expect a huge game from Casey McLaughlin. Pick: Central Catholic

D2: Reading (23-0) vs. Medfield (24-2)
Hall: Would be cool to see one of the state’s finest athletes Jen Narlee bring home a state title in two sports this calendar year, but you don’t get to 48 straight wins without some role players stepping up. Rockets’ workhorse Olivia Healy will get hers, but the hero will once again be someone else. Pick: Reading
Bradley: Well, I don’t have the guts to pick against an Olivia Healy-led team. Anybody who does--feel free to raise your hand. Pick: Reading

D3: Archbishop Williams (21-5) vs. Pentucket (24-1)
Hall: Does this qualify as an upset if I go with Pentucket? Sachems have been quietly waiting in the grass all season long. Monday night, they will strike with a first-round haymaker. Pick: Pentucket
Bradley: A great run by Archbishop Williams here in the final stretch of the season. I know this has been a highly-anticipated matchup all year, but I’m going to pick what some may call the “upset” and go with Pentucket, but expect an absolute thriller Pick: Pentucket

D4: Fenway (14-7) vs. Greater New Bedford (20-4)
Hall: Tajanay Veiga-Lee was the hero last year against this same GNB squad, but I like the Bears getting their revenge Monday night. Pick: Greater New Bedford
Bradley: Fenway's girls are battle-tested and on quite a roll right now, as they've won seven games in a row. Pick: Fenway

***

CENTRAL/WEST FINALS

Boys

D1: Springfield Putnam (22-1) vs. Milford (20-3)
Hall: I love the way Putnam plays so inspired, and their whipping of Springfield Central in Saturday's D1 West Final might be the Beavers' high water mark of the season. Look for big games out of KayJuan Bynum and David Murrell. Pick: Putnam
Bradley: Putnam has more talent and more speed than Milford, but during their tournament run the Hawks have displayed the type of toughness and poise that it takes to go to the state finals. Milford doesn’t have a go-to guy, but they have a team full of kids who aren’t afraid to take the big shot-which is why they’ll beat Putnam and give Central a run for their money in the state finals. Pick: Milford

D2: St. Bernard's (19-4) vs. South Hadley (16-7)
Hall: Bernardians made it this far last year, only to meet a disappointing end. They're back again, and more determined. Pick: St. Bernard's
Bradley: The Bernardians will have a significant size advantage, as well as one of the better scorers in Division 2 in John Crawley. Count on St. Bernard’s to punch their ticket into the D2 state finals. Pick: St. Bernard's

D3: Smith Academy (21-3) vs. Littleton (24-1)
Hall: Here's a team we missed the boat on. Smith took the D3 field by storm, and from what I understand they're a loaded bunch. I like their chances in this one. Pick: Smith Academy
Bradley: Littleton hasn't lost a game since December, thanks mainly to a high-scoring attack and exceptional play from senior guard Chris Murray. They certainly weren't the favorite in a tough D3 Central field, but they made it out alive. Pick: Littleton

Girls

D1: Holy Name (22-2) vs. Chicopee (16-7)
Hall: Junior center and Providence commit Brianna Frias is a monster on the boards, and my pick for Defensive Player of the Year. Long-time Naps coach Barry Finneron has his best shot at a state title in a while. Pick: Holy Name
Bradley: Holy Name is on quite the run and couldn’t be any higher emotionally after absolutely blowing out Wachusett in the D1 Central final. Sophomore Gigi Gunther is a future star. Pick: Holy Name

D2: Nashoba (21-2) vs. Hoosac Valley (19-5)
Hall: Going with strength of schedule in this one, and the Chieftains delivered powerhouse Tyngsborough its first-ever loss within Central Mass. to get to this stage. Pick: Nashoba
Bradley: All five of Nashoba’s starters could be considered go-to scorers, they’ve had such an even scoring attack all year. Their balance offensively is going to give Hoosac plenty of problems. Pick: Nashoba

D3: Lee (18-5) vs. University Park (23-1)
Hall: Death, taxes, and the Lee Wildcats on the DCU Center floor competing for a state title. Pick: Lee
Bradley: Lee is clicking at the right time, beating favored power Sabis in the Western Mass. Division 3 finals. Not only that, Stephanie Young has shown several times this year that she can break 20 or 25 on any given night. Pick: Lee

Scott Barboza and correspondent Bruce Lerch dissect four Game 2 performances on Wednesday and Friday in our latest Super 8 Recap.

Two teams are moving on (Austin Prep and Malden Catholic), while two series are headed to deciding Game 3s on Sunday. We break down all the action, along with a preview for Sunday's game, in this piece produced by Greg Story:

LOWELL, Mass. -– Few players across Massachusetts have separated themselves from the pack the way Reading’s Olivia Healy has this season. But you don’t get to 48 straight wins and now two straight Division 2 North titles with one player carrying the team on her back every night.

Championship-caliber teams always get clutch production from serviceable role players. This morning in the D2 North final at the Tsongas Center, in a sluggish day of offense, that fell unto junior forward Sarah Haase. The 5-foot-9 pivot came up with 19 points and 11 boards as the Rockets downed North Andover easily, 50-33, for their second straight D2 North title.

“We’ve been here before, so I kind of expected what the stadium would look like,” Haase said. “We came here early, got a good warmup. I just came to play, and I had my team’s support, my team’s help with the assists and everything. That helped out a lot.”

The Richmond-bound Healy ended up with a quality night as well, tallying a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) while facing a box-and-one defense. But her ball movement helped the Rockets break their sluggish offensive start, tallying five assists on the afternoon -– several of those going to Haase.

“She was unbelievable,” Healy said of Haase. “She owned the points, she kept on putting it in strong, but her rebounding was ridiculous too. She got some crucial rebounds, she got them for us at the Comcast Tournament [last month]. She’s been stepping her game up.”

Said Reading coach Kim Penney, “She’s been working hard. We keep telling her, when Liv [Healy] gets the ball down low, you’ve got to dive because she’s going to see you, and she made some nice passes to her.”

Reading lead North Andover 23-11 at the break, holding the Scarlet Knights to just 26 percent from the floor (5-of-19) in the first half. Holding a 31-22 lead after three, the Rockets finished strong, shooting 60 percent from the floor (6-of-10) and going a near-perfect 7-of-8 from the line, including a 6-for-6 clip from Healy.

Defending Lumb: Coming into the tournament with eight losses, North Andover made a surge to its first D2 North Final appearance since 1988 behind the returning health of senior forward Morgan Lumb, a University of Hartford signee.

This morning, the defensive duty fell unto senior guard Katie Starble, who marked Lumb the whole game; and while Lumb finished with 17 points, eight of those points came in the fourth quarter when the lead was already in hand.

“We take pride in our defense, we like to run the floor so hopefully our D sparks that. But it started with Katie tonight,” Healy said. “She had a hand in her face every single time. Yeah, she got some shots off, but everything was contested. Nothing was open for her.”

Swift dishes: This isn’t the first time Healy has seen a box and one, and it may not be the last in her high school career. So the 5-foot-10 senior knew exactly what to do – set up her teammates cutting to the basket.

“We have an offense off of box and one,” Healy said. “If someone sets that, the rest of the team says ‘It’s my time to step up’, and it’s my job to give it to them as much as possible. Bridget [Clements] hitting threes, Katie [Starble] taking that outside shot…I mean, I’m already down low. I would rather see box-and-one more than anything, because it frees up my teammates on the court.”

It’s not often the Knights bust out the defensive call. But NA head coach Sue Breen applauded Mackenzie Mello’s efforts marking Healy around the perimeter.

“She’s just such a good defensive player for us,” Breen said. “I don’t think most teams have a kid that is that quick and long [Healy], and I think Mackenzie just did a great job on her. We haven’t played a box-and-one much this year, because usually we can just go straight up, but we found we needed to do something different because we didn’t want Olivia to score 45 points.”

STONEHAM, Mass. -- Austin Prep goaltender Elijah Harris, though small in stature, played like a giant on Wednesday night, leading the Cougars to a 1-0 win over town rival Reading, ending the Rockets' season and catapulting Austin Prep into the Super 8 semifinals with a 2-0 series win.

Harris, a sophomore who stands maybe 5-foot-7, made a whopping 39 saves for the Cougars.

“I’m proud of our boys,” Austin Prep head coach Louis Finocchiaro said. “Elijah [Harris] played sensational. People will say he won the game for us, and absolutely, and that’s why he’s on our team. He’s on our team and it’s a team game. They outshot us, they had 20 quality shots, and he made some big time saves.”

The Cougars scored the game’s lone goal with 1:43 remaining in the first period. Frankie Candelino put the initial shot on Reading goaltender Evan Morelli but Cam Russo was able to jam home the rebound.

Reading’s best chance of the night came with 6:35 to play in the third period. Mark Dente raced down the right-wing side and fired a shot that Harris was able to deflect with his blocker and sent the puck sailing into the netting above the glass.

“Game like these if I put out a pad it will just hit it,” Harris said. “If I put our my glove it just goes in clean. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, you can’t predict that tonight will be the night, but you just get in the zone.”

Reading was relentless all night, piling bodies in front of Harris. But, the goaltender was able to stay square to the puck and find openings for a line of sight.

“With my size I can kind of look through their legs,” Harris said with a chuckle. “I was just seeing the puck and seeing the release. When you have nights like tonight, I can read that stuff, and even make a second reaction if it gets tipped.”

The Rockets pulled their goaltender and just eight seconds later, were given a power play for the final 1:16 of the game. But up 6-on-4, they still weren’t able to find an opening past Harris.

“We generated good chances,” Reading head coach Mark Doherty said. “Obviously we have some set plays we we try to setup and I’m not sure we fully got it implemented the way we wanted, but again, we got pucks rotated up high and we got shots and we got at some rebounds. But that’s the game of hockey, if one kid gets hot -- and Evan [Morelli] has won a lot of games for us -- that can happen.”

SEASON OVER FOR READING, 17 SENIORS
Reading’s roster was loaded with upperclassmen. A total of 17 seniors were on last night’s roster, playing in what amounted to their final high school game.

“The locker room is great,” Doherty said. “It’s emotional, but we had a great effort. It’s hard to keep your head up but they represented Reading incredibly well, and that’s the message I gave them.”

Scott Barboza and correspondent Bruce Lerch break down all of Sunday's quarterfinal action at the Super 8 hockey tournament at UMass-Lowell's Tsongas Center.

They highlight the biggest and best performances from the Game 1s and look at which teams, who are down a game, might have the best chance of winning their best-of-three series.

LOWELL, Mass. -- Correspondent James Walsh produces these highlights from Austin Prep's 2-1 win over town rival Reading in Game 1 of their Super 8 tournament quarterfinal series at UMass-Lowell's Tsongas Center.

The Cougars take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

LOWELL, Mass. – Round 1 of the intra-city series goes to the boys on Willow Street.

Sophomore Elijah Harris carried a shutout into the final 30 seconds, and goals from freshmen Jake McKenelley and Eric MacAdams helped guide Austin Prep to a 2-1 win over crosstown rival Reading at Tsongas Arena in Game 1 of this best-of-three Super 8 quarterfinal series.

The Rockets, who got a goal from senior Ryan Thomson with 22.2 seconds remaining, will look to even the score Wednesday night at Stoneham Arena.

McKenlley scored for the Cougars (14-1-6) at 4:52 of the first, crashing the net and finishing a rebound off a shot from sophomore Bob Carpenter, who had made a nice rush down the left wing. Prep played solid defense from there on out, and Harris (24 saves) took care of the rest.

“I’m proud of our guys, because maintaining a 1-0 lead from the first period to the third period, that’s something to build off of, especially against a great team,” Prep head coach Louis Finocchiaro said.

MacAdams effectively ended the game with 41.9 seconds to play, scoring on an empty-net from his own zone. Thomson’s goal made it interesting, but Prep was able to run out the rest of the clock to hold on for the win.

MacAdams’ goal came with Reading skating 6-on-4, as Cougar junior defenseman Andrew Cross was sent to the box for a hit to the head with 1:48 remaining. Reading (16-2-5) had a few good chances to tie it, the best coming just seconds before MacAdams’ goal when a shot by junior Mike Thomson from the right circle took a deflection before Harris made a good pad save.

Harris also robbed Mike Thomson on a point-blank chance early in the second period, and his overall performance showed he was up to the challenge of playing in the Super 8.

“He played unbelievable,” McKenelley said of Harris. “He held us in there at the end. He’s a great goalie.”

Harris’ counterpart, Reading senior Evan Morelli, made 29 saves and played a strong game in his own right. Prep attacked the Rockets’ net with a flurry of shots in the middle of the second period, culminating in Morelli making a great double-save on MacAdams and then senior Nolan Vesey on the rebound with 4:33 to play in the frame.

“He’s very good, and we need him to be very good. That’s his job,” Reading head coach Mark Doherty said of Morelli. “If you wanna’ be that guy, you need to play well, and he’s a very good goaltender. I think, basically, he’s right up there with the best in the state.”

McKenelly was the only player to beat Morelli on the night, continuing a strong freshman campaign that saw him enter the tournament as Prep’s third-leading goal-scorer with 11.

“He played as an eighth-grader for us last year and he had a solid season, and he’s having a solid season for us this year from start to finish,” Finocchiaro said.

Prep also got a good performance from its defensemen. The pairings of Cross and senior Zach Fuller, and sophomore Matt Morgan and freshman J.J. Layton, refused Reading’s forwards the space to operate in front of the net.



Both Finocchiaro and McKennelley said Prep’s defense was a team effort.

“We weren’t letting them get three-on-twos or odd-man rushes,” McKenelley said. “We just kinda’ kept it out of the zone and try to play more offense than defense.”

The shots wound up being fairly even – Austin Prep 31, Reading 25 – but the Rockets will look to create more quality chances in Game 2 Wednesday. Face-off is set for 7:45 p.m.

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Austin Prep 1, Reading 0 (1st period)