THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 7, 2020 Page 13 Lady Sachems knock off Lynn English By Greg Phipps A s the season progresses, the Saugus High School girls’ basketball team is looking more and more like a serious postseason contender. After defeating always-tough Lynn Classical late last week, the Saugus girls did one better Tuesday night by knocking off Lynn English, 42-30, on the road and improving to 12-3 on the season. The Lady Sachems have gone 10-1 since opening the season at 2-2 and are playing their best basketball as the regular season begins to wind down. Saugus’s lone loss over the last 11 games was a two-point setback at Marblehead early last week. That game was the second of a back-to-back. On Tuesday, Molly Granara, who produced a career-high 21 points in last Fridays’ 59-48 win at Classical, rose to the occasion once again with 13 rebounds and nine points. She was followed by Taylor Bogdanski with 12 points and six rebounds, and Jessica Nazzaro with nine points. Saugus led, 20-16, at halftime and increased the advantage to 32-18 in the third after Nazzaro drilled consecutive three-pointers. The Lady Sachems pulled ahead 13-9 after one quarter when Kiley Ronan scored four points to close out the period. Head coach Mark Schruender said the defense fueled the team’s offense in the victory. “It was just the kids making plays. Our defense led to offense. Kids weren’t hesitating. Their confidence was great,” he told the press after the win. “We said in the locker room, they’re going to come out firing in the second half so we have to bring the intensity. We did.” Along with Granara’s 21 Senior Kiley Ronan had another strong allaround effort in Saugus’s huge win at Lynn English on Tuesday. (Advocate Photo by Greg Phipps) in the victory over Classical, Bogdanski poured in 15 and Shaylin Groark and Nazzaro each added six in that contest. Saugus played at Revere on Thursday and host Winthrop on Monday night. Sachems play well in loss to Pentucket Saugus forward Lorenzo Keegan finished with a goal and an assist in Monday’s loss to Pentucket. (Advocate Photo by Greg Phipps) By Greg Phipps T hough this season has not been a good one in terms of wins and losses, the Saugus High School hockey team has had several moments it can hang its hat on for future reference. Monday night’s close loss to Pentucket at Kasabuski Arena is one of those. Goalie Jack Devereaux was once again outstanding in net, making 35 saves, and Saugus made some noise offensively by scoring four times. But that wasn’t enough, as the visitors grabbed a 6-4 victory. The defeat dropped Saugus’s season record to 2-12-1. Head coach Jeff Natalucci said their errors that have cost the Sachems all winter. “It’s been the story for us all season. We just make too many mistakes out there, especially in our own end,” he told the press after the game. “When you give a team second and third chances on a bunch of possessions, they’re going to cash in. If you turn the puck over in your own zone, it’s going to hurt you. We paid for every mistake we made.” Saugus took a 3-2 lead in the second period but couldn’t see it through, as Pentucket went on to outscore the Sachems, 4-1, over the remainder of the contest. Jason Caron tallied twice for Saugus while Lorenzo Keegan added a goal and an assist. Freshman Dante Mauro netted his first-ever varsity goal, and Andrew Cipriano and Richie Mauro each contributed an assist. Deservedly so, Natalucci had high praise for Devereaux’s usual standout effort in goal. “Jack has been a rock for us all year and it was no different today,” he said. “We have to do a better job in front of him. Just because he’s capable of making all those saves doesn’t mean we should make him have to.” The Sachems played Lynnfield on Wednesday and host Watertown on Saturday (scheduled 5:40 p.m. faceoff).
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