Patriots Earn No. 1 Seed, Open Up Tournament Play Tomorrow Night

Jenkins named league MVP, DeCristoforo Coach of Year

The 20-0 Revere High girls basketball team, the top seed in the MIAA Division 1 North sectional state tournament, will open tourney play tomorrow evening (Thursday) when it hosts Lynn English at the Merullo Fieldhouse at Revere High. Tip off time is 7:00 p.m.

Lynn English is the 16th seed in the bracket and earned the right to meet Revere thanks to a 69-56 win over 17th seed Somerville Monday evening.

English is a wel- known quantity to the Lady Patriots. The Lady Rams play in the North Division of the Northeastern Conference with Revere and have become fierce rivals since Revere joined the NEC five years back.

Revere defeated English in both of their meetings this season. Revere easily took their first encounter, but the rematch three weeks ago at Lynn English was a hard fought battle in which the Lady Patriots trailed all the way until they made a move in the final six minutes to come away with a 67-60 triumph.

English cannot run with the Lady Patriots, so the key to a Revere victory will be to maintain an up tempo pace. And the key to that will be a pressure defense that will force turnovers and create scoring opportunities.

“We’ll be ready for the tourney,” said RHS head coach Diana DeCristoforo. “We’ve had three scrimmages this past week against two of the top teams in Division 2 and the top team in Division 3, so we know what we’ll be up against.”

DeCristoforo also is aware that emotional readiness is an equally key component to a team’s performance in March Madness. “Last year was the first tourney appearance for all of the girls and they lacked the confidence you need to play your best at this level,” said the coach. “But if there is a difference between this year and last, it’s that we know what it’s all about and we’re better prepared for the experience.”

If the Lady Patriots are successful tomorrow night, they will advance to the quarterfinal round against the winner of the Lincoln-Sudbury vs. Medford contest, the 8th and 9th seeds. The date and place of that game have yet to be determined.

A number of post season accolades came in for the Lady Patriots. To no one’s surprise, the Most Valuable Player of the North Division was Morgan Jenkins. The senior, who reached the 1,000-point plateau just after the midway point of the season, was a dominating force at both ends of the floor in every game.  Morgan more often than not put together a double-double in the scoring and rebounding departments.

Teammates Gena Restiano and Marissa Parent also were selected for the all star team. In addition, DeCristoforo deservedly was named the North Division Coach of the Year, a pick that was by acclamation after guiding her charges to their historic 20-0 campaign.