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Shawsheen Tech senior center Fiona Rexford was named the Commonwealth Athletic Conference’s Large Division MVP and Greater Lowell’s Brian Martin was selected as the division’s Coach of the Year.
Selected as Large Division all-stars were sophomore guard Ava Mennella, sophomore forward Rowan Murphy and senior forward Kendra O’Brien of Greater Lowell; freshman guard Leticia Castro and eighth-grade guard Brooke Matthews of Lowell Catholic; and Rexford and senior forward Izzy Ferguson of Shawsheen Tech.
In the Small Division, chosen as all-stars were senior forward Jacqui Martineau and freshman guard Grace Logan of the Academy of Notre Dame; senior guard Lily O’Day and junior forward Grace Calvagno of Innovation Academy; and junior forward Hayden Caires and sophomore forward Piper Fulmer of Nashoba Tech.
College basketball
DuCharme shines: With senior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) scoring a career-best 25 points for the second straight night, the Bentley University women’s basketball team won its third battle of the season against Saint Anselm College.
The 60-55 victory punched the Falcons’ ticket for Monday’s regional final.
Bentley, 32-1 and the third-ranked team in Division II, extended its winning streak to 28 games and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2016 and the 22nd time overall. The Falcons will host Holy Family University, a 69-55 winner over reigning regional champion Daemen University, Monday at 7 p.m., with a trip to the Elite Eight in Pittsburgh on the line.
DuCharme had her second straight huge game, complementing her game-high point total with 14 rebounds, evenly split at each end of the court, and three steals. She also played strong defense on Saint Anselm senior post Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.), the Northeast-10 Player of the Year.
Bentley, which was looking at an eight-point deficit with two-and-a-half minutes left in the first half, closed to within two at intermission, 29-27, following an 8-2 run. DuCharme had six of the eight, with all the points coming in the paint.
College lacrosse
UML romps: Sophomore Grace Lydon (Rowley) tallied a career-high four assists, as the UMass Lowell women’s lacrosse team took down the New Hampshire Wildcats, 15-8, in the America East opener in Lowell.
Lydon, who tallied a goal to total five points, was all over the box score, adding a ground ball, a caused turnover, and four draw controls to her stat line for the River Hawks (7-2, 1-0 AE). Senior Jade Catlin (Middletown, Md.) finished with four goals, one assist, two ground balls, two caused turnovers, and five draw controls. Junior Macy Shultz (Adams, N.Y.) added two goals and two assists, while sophomore Jillian Goldie (Owen Sound, Ont.) finished with three goals and an assist.
Junior Audra Hansen (Stamford, Conn.) finished with a hat trick, while sophomore Chloe Bowers (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) and sophomore Marlee Green (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) each chipped in a goal. In net, sophomore Alexa Kuhn (Rocky Point, N.Y.) finished with six saves.
“The America East right now is shaping up to be a highly competitive conference, so I’m happy to get the win,” said UML head coach Lisa Miller. “We’re 1-0 in the America East, which is exactly where we want to be. We knew UNH was going to be scrappy and fight, and I thought they brought that today.”
