WHS sports roundup

WHS girls win tourney opener; Play this thurs. in Northbridge at 7:00

The Winthrop High girls basketball team opened play in the MIAA Division 4 basketball tournament with a 51-32 first-round victory over Smith Vocational and Agricultural School Monday evening at the Winthrop High gym. Winthrop entered the tourney as the #21 seed in D-4 with a 7-13 record, with Smith (13-7) coming in as the #44 seed in the MIAA’s D-4 power rankings.

The victory advances coach Anthony Hatsizavas and his Lady Viking crew to the Round of 32 where they will travel to face the #12-seed Northbridge Lady Rams (14-5) this evening (Thursday). The opening tip for the match-up on the Lady Rams’ home court is set for 7:00.

Monday’s contest between the pair of Lady Viking rivals (Smith’s school mascot also is the Viking) began slowly, as is usually the case in tourney openers when teams are shaking off some first-round jitters.

Winthrop trailed through the first five minutes, 6-2, with the home Lady Vikings’ lone bucket coming from sophomore Angela Tshwowa.

But with about three minutes left in the period, junior guard Poli Tsiotos came in off the bench and promptly sank a pair of treys  from the left corner within the span of about 45 seconds, igniting the home crowd and boosting Winthrop into an 8-6 advantage that they never would relinquish.

Tsiotos’s long-range touch continued on Winthrop’s opening possession of the second period, with Poli draining her third straight trey, this time from the right corner, to make it 11-6.

Teammate Sophia Lindinger also hit from long-range, boosting Winthrop into a 15-8 lead midway through the period.

Both Lady Viking teams soon found their scoring touch, with Winthrop having the better of it, thanks primarily to the continued three-point accuracy of Tsiotos, who hit two more triples, to give Winthrop a 24-18 lead at the half.

The home Lady Vikings then asserted control at both ends of the floor after the intermission, outscoring the Smith Lady Vikings 15-7 in the third period to take a solid 39-25 lead entering the final period, from where Winthrop cruised to the big win.

“We started off a bit sluggish,” said Hatzisavas. “I think nerves were kicking in. It was a great environment and atmosphere. We were down 6-2 for about five minutes and then Poli Tsiotos buried a three from the corner and it all kind of changed. The nerves were gone and we started playing with a ton of energy.

“Smith was hurting us in transition and at the half we talked about how we needed to limit the turnovers and make them beat us in halfcourt,” Hatzisavas continued. “We came out in the second half creating more offensively and played with great intensity on defense. Lily Conway did a great job controlling the paint and really controlled the glass all night. She gave us so many second-chance opportunities on offense with her offensive rebounds and ended possessions for them with the way she rebounded the basketball.”

Tsiotos, a junior guard, led the Winthrop Lady Vikings in the scoring department with a game-high 21 points. Sophia Lindinger chipped in with nine points and Zoey Bogusz added eight, primarily by doing a superb job of getting to the lane.

“At the end of the day, the real star of the show was Poli Tsiotos,” said Hatzisavas. “Poli had 15 of our 24 points in the first half, which really carried us, and then she hit two more threes in the second half and finished with a game-high and team season-high of 21 points.

“Poli comes from a family who has a great history in Winthrop basketball, whether it’s dad, uncles, siblings, or cousins,” Hatzisavas added. “There seems to always be a member of her family who is making a big impact in either of the programs here. Now it’s Poli’s turn. There is no secret as to why Poli has been able to find success. Everyday during this season Poli has been the last player to leave the gym. She stays and puts in the extra work. She doesn’t let much affect her when she plays the sport of basketball, which is another great thing about her.

“After the game I told her that as much as I enjoyed her making seven three-pointers, the thing I enjoyed more was the way she brought it on the defensive end. That’s what we take pride in, our defense, and as a team we have brought that every night.

“Smith is a good basketball program and they have a 1000-point scorer,” said Hatzisavas, “so it was nice to watch our team rise to the challenge and take control after our slow start.”

Hatzisavas and his crew had prepped for the tourney contest with a 38-32 victory at Gloucester in their regular-season finale last Thursday.

“Captain Lily Conway really set the tone right away for us with her hustle and effort against one of the better players in the league,” said Hatzisavas. “She also helped with her scoring, which pushed us out to a 9-1 lead halfway through the first period.”

Although Winthrop trailed by a point at the half, the Lady Vikings came out on fire after the intermission. Winthrop went on a nice run that carried through to the waning minutes, capped by a clutch three-pointer by captain Sophia Lindinger with a minute to play that sealed the victory.

“Bailey Ferguson, captain Zoey Bogusz, and Poli Tsitotos, along with Sophia, provided us with some huge key baskets throughout the game,” noted Hatzisavas. “It was the right way to head to the tournament with a good win over a tough opponent, especially on the road.

“We were able to secure the #21 seed after being the #34 seed  just three weeks ago,” Hatzisavas continued. “We were #34 — which would have left us out of the tourney — so it shows not only how much the girls wanted to make it, but also to get in at a decent seeding.”

If the Lady Vikings defeat Northbridge tonight to advance to the Sweet 16, they most likely will play at #5 seed Cohasset, which will be meeting the winner of the contest between #28 St. Bernard’s and #37 Greater Lawrence tomorrow (Friday).