Belmont Girls’ Hoops Streak Into Playoffs; Revenge Loss To SpyPonders For 11th Win

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Photo: Belmont’s Sarah Dullaghan with the layup against Reading, part of the five game winning streak the Marauders continued with its win over Arlington.

You could hear the laughter and cheering of the Belmont High Girls’ Basketball team as the bus entered the high school parking lot Friday night, Feb. 7.

And why not? The Marauders, which punched its ticket into the Div. 2 North Sectional tournament earlier in the week with its away victory over Wakefield, arrived back from a statement victory over playoff bound Arlington, 58-43, securing its 11th win and fifth in a row.

“We played the best half of the season,” said junior guard Kiki Christofori getting off the bus after avenging a four point loss in January to the SpyPonders.

The win puts Belmont (11-5) securely in second place in the Middlesex Liberty, a game clear of Lexington and Arlington, with two games remaining in the regular season.

Entering the second half a point down to the SpyPonders, 28-27, Belmont’s Head Coach Melissa Hart decided to up the defensive pressure on Arlington’s big scoring threats, juniors Claire Ewen and Ava Connolly by inserting a pair of youngsters in the line up; sophomore Meredith Christo and first year Sophie McDevitt.

And despite the efforts by Arlington to get their scorers the ball, “those two just really did a great job,” said Hart, also pointing to the effort by another sophomore Sarah Dullaghan, Christofori and junior Abby Morin as Ewen and Connolly finished the half with just 9 points.

On the other end of the court, sophomore Nina Minicozzi equaled her first half total of 7 points in the third alone before leading the Marauder charge in the fourth with nine for 23 points for the game as Belmont doubled up the SpyPonders 31-15 in the half.

Junior Reese Shapazian, who threw in three 3s in the second quarter to keep the Marauders close, finished with 10 while Christofori finished with eight as did McDevitt.

“We are playing our best at the right time,” said Hart, acknowledging that the team finishes up with home games against Burlington (12-5) and Woburn (15-1, ranked 14th in the Boston Globe Top 20) which beat Belmont by 11 earlier in the season.

“Burlington is very good and have three kids that are just long athletes so it’s gonna be a struggle,” said Hart.

League Title 2.0: Belmont Boys’ Hoops Defends Middlesex Liberty Crown

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Photo: Champs again.

Senior Co-captain Mac Annus was still smarting from his seven-point performance in Belmont second league defeat, a 69-63 home loss to Wakefield on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

“It was kinda rough thinking about not scoring. I made only one three,” said the Belmont High School Boys’ Basketball forward who averages in the high teens per game.

So when Belmont hosted Arlington on Friday, Feb. 7, Annus went back to what he does best on the court.

“I just started shooting and just stuck with it. Just stay confident that I’d start hitting those shots,” he said.

And Annus did just that, throwing up 35 points including nailing nine 3s to pace the Marauders to a 90-66 victory over the SpyPonders. After falling behind by nine early in the second quarter, Belmont stepped it up on the defensive end – shutting down Jr SpyPonder Myles Hess (20 pts) who burned the Marauders with five 3s in the first quarter alone – limiting Arlington to 9 points in the second.

Offensively, Belmont nearly doubled its output in the second quarter led by Annus who sank three 3s, a basket and a pair of free throws to end the half with 19. He was joined by senior Avery Arno (11 points) who drained nine points in the quarter as Belmont built a 43-32 advantage at the half.

The third quarter nearly turned into a game of horse between Annus and teammate junior Preston Jackson-Stephens (12 points in the third, 23 for the game) as the two threw in three 3s with some layups to boot with Annus scored 13 points in consecutive quarters.

Belmont’s 14th win of the season (against four losses) also clinched the Marauders consecutive Middlesex Liberty titles. The victory comes during the last half of the season which has been a struggle; a pair of losses to Middlesex Freedom rivals – snapping a two-year unbeaten streak in the League and three years undefeated at home – and wins which were secured in the final seconds.

“This is a very competitive league and you have to come prepared each night because there really isn’t an easy game in the Middlesex especially in the latter part of the season. There are no secrets that you can spring on anyone,” said long-time Belmont Head Coach Pritchard.

Yet it was also during this string of games in which the Marauders defeated a strong top-10 squad from Catholic Memorial, 86-84.

Belmont travels to the Middlesex Freedom champs Burlington (15-3) on Tuesday, Feb. 11, for the unofficial title of Middlesex League champions before ending the regular season on Thursday, Feb. 13, in a doubleheader with the Girls’ team against Woburn.

Donation By Allisons Will Provide Belmont PD With Taser Weapons, Training

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Photo: A taser manufactured by Axon Enterprise.

The largest private donation in the history of the Belmont Police Department will provide a popular electrical weapon device and the necessary training to officers on patrol.

The gift of $101,325 from Liz and Graham Allison was accepted by the Select Board on Jan. 7 which will go the purchase of Taser weapons for use by officers on the street.

“We’ve had some very serious situations [in Belmont],” including one in which a knife was involved, said recently retired Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin who facilitated the gift request.

“This gives us another tool to be able to utilize and deescalate a situation,” said McLaughlin who facilitated the gift request.

The Allison’s have made several substantial gifts to various town organizations and groups, many anonymously. But McLaughlin said they would like to be associated with this gift as it has the potential of saving lives.

A Taser fires two small barbed darts that puncture the skin and remain attached to the person, delivering a modulated electric current designed to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. While the weapon is deemed less lethal than guns and rifles, there remains a possibility of serious injury and even death whenever the device is used.

The Belmont Police department will soon join more than 200 departments across the Bay State which currently have Tasers in their arsenal.

McLaughlin said the funding gift is just the first step in a long process before the weapon is carried by the department. Officers must successfully complete a state-approved training program, the department must create policies for their use along with continued funding.

Popular Lime Bike Dumps Belmont To Pursue The Coolness Of Scooters

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Photo: A Lime bike, now part of history.

Lime, the popular bike sharing concept that won a growing number of local converts, has decided that cycles are just not as cool as e-scooters and will not bring back the green colored bicycles to Belmont sidewalks in the spring.

The bad news was confirmed by a forlorn Select Board on Monday, Feb. 3.

Belmont’s partnership with Lime came through the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional planning agency that negotiated a contract with Lime and more than a dozen municipalities. Since that agreement recently ended, “there is no option for a bike share program in Belmont,” said Patrice Garvin, Belmont’s Town Administrator.

“That’s a real shame,” said Board Chair Tom Caputo, as Garvin said ridership was growing each month it was in town.

The reason San Francisco-based Neutron Holdings – Lime’s parent company – is reducing its dockless bike-sharing offering is due to a shift in its business model in which the firm will focus on electric scooters which have proven to be popular in major cities and university towns.

In locations such as Washington DC to San Diego, Paris and Berkeley, e-scooters have become a convenient and cheap option for short trips. Scattered through out those cities, tourists and residents eagerly hopping on machines as they are easy and fun to use.

Garvin said she has not heard from Lime if it would approach the town with an option to locate e-scooters in town. “Would the town have to pay into that … or if docking stations will be required a whole level of complexity,” said Garvin.

“And we never agreed to do the scooters,” said the Select Board’s Adam Dash.

The Board’s Roy Epstein asked Garvin if it was possible if there was any interest by Bluebikes Bikes Share to expand into Belmont. A non-profit operated by the City of Boston and sponsored by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Bluebikes has more than 2,200 bikes using 210 docking stations throughout Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. Unlike Lime, Bluebikes are required to eventually be returned to a docking facility.

Garvin said issues to bring Bluebikes to Belmont would include if a fee was required, where the docking stations would be located and if the town would need to find a sponsor.

Belmont Girls Hoops Grind By Watertown, Reading As Playoff Berth A Win Away

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Photo: Kiki being Kiki: Belmont’s Christofori playing her game.

Belmont High Girls’ Basketball secured a vital pair of home victories putting them a game away from securing a return trip to the Division 2 North sectional playoffs.

But the wins over arch rival Watertown and always tough Reading were throughly grind-them-out affairs in which the Marauders found a fourth quarter savior who secured the victories.

Against the Raiders on Tuesday, Jan. 28, sophomore Nina Minicozzi came off a four point first half to score 14 in the second – nine of those in the fourth – to give the Marauders the needed offensive punch to pull away from their cross border challengers, 54-34.

After falling behind 7-6 after the first quarter, Belmont’s Sophie McDevitt put the team on her shoulders as the first year became a target down low for her team mates cutting in the lane, scoring three hoops from in close. And given the chance, the sister of Belmont’s starting center Emma McDevitt buried a three as she hit for 10 of her career high 14 in the second quarter to give the Marauders a 23-14 lead at the half.

Belmont welcomed Reading to the Wenner Field House for a Friday night tussle that saw a pair of big quarters for both teams. After a close first quarter (15-11 Belmont), the Marauders pulled ahead 23-16 with three minutes remaining. That’s when the Rockets took off going on a 10-1 run behind sophomore guard Jackie Malley who knocked down six-for-six from the charity stripe to go along with a 3-pointer to give Reading the half time lead, 26-24.

The third quarter resembled an alley brawl as both team’s defenses were physical and uncompromising to anyone attempting a shot within 10 feet of the basket. Two free throws from junior Kiki Christofori (tied with Malley for game high 15 points) with 35 seconds remaining closed the gap to one, 36-35, only for Reading to hit a three and a follow up with zilch on the clock to give them their biggest lead of the game, 41-35, entering the final eight minutes.

The fourth was Belmont’s as its pressure defense shut down the Rockets. Reese Shapazian’s NBA-distance 3 with six minutes remaining gave Belmont the lead, 42-41, and her second trey – a buzzer beater from a wild rebound from Minicozzi upped the lead to six, 48-42, with four-and-a-half left on the clock.

It was a wild last minute as Belmont saw its 51-44 lead to a single possession, 54-51 with 10 seconds remaining when sophomore Sarah Dullaghan (five points including a behind the head layup and a three pointer) the smallest Marauder, blocked a desperation three to effectively end the game.

Belmont will take on streaky Wakefield (7-9 but with victories over Burlington, Wilmington and Arlington) as they begin the final two weeks of league play.

Town Celebrates League Of Women Voters During Suffrage Centennial

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Photo: Honoring the League of Women Voters of Belmont: (from left) Ann Goldberg, Select Board’s Adam Dash, Amy Grossman, Penny Schafer, Select Board’s Roy Epstein, Board Chair Tom Caputo, Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, Maryann Scali and Pat Hawkins.

Maryann Scali first voted for president in 1956 when she pulled the lever for President Eisenhower.

“I liked Ike,” said the life long Belmont resident, who rarely missed the chance to cast a ballot. Years later, Scali and a dedicated group of women have been on the forefront of promoting access to the polls.

During the centennial year of women suffrage, the town celebrates the 86th anniversary of the founding of the Belmont League of Women Voters with a proclamation from the Select Board on Monday, Feb. 3.

The league’s purpose is “Making Democracy Work” by providing informational statements, sponsoring debates, publishes an annual voters guide for town elections, and generating interest in the political process.

Presidential Primary Elections Include Early Voting Days

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Photo: Early voting is coming to Belmont.

Belmont’s Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Green/Rainbows will have the chance to vote for presidential candidates in their party’s primary election from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 after the Select Board signed the warrant approving the measure, according to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

In addition to the four party voters, the 9,000 residents registered as unenrolled can pick up one of the party’s ballots to vote for those candidates. But if you belong to the Pizza or Pirate parties – yes, the state recognize those political entities – you’ll have to sit this one out.

Voters will cast their ballots at their usual polling precinct. Residents can register to vote, change their party affiliation, change their name or voting address up until Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. at the Town Clerk’s Office in Town Hall.

Cushman will also be registering students at Belmont High School on Feb. 10 during the lunch periods outside the cafeteria.

Cushman has announced a week of early voting on the following dates and times:

  • Monday, Feb. 24        8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 25        8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 26  8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Thursday, Feb. 27     8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Friday, Feb. 28          8 a.m. to Noon

All Early Voting will take place at the Belmont Town Hall, 455 Concord Ave. Election Day voting will take place at each of the eight voting precinct locations.

Early Voting is available to all voters of the Commonwealth, unlike Absentee Voting that is only available to those voters who will not be in Belmont on Election Day or cannot vote in person on Election Day due to a medical disability or religious conflict with voting on Election Day.

The Town Clerk’s office always recommends that voters carry  identification when going to the polls or Early Voting in case one is required due to inactive status.

Questions should be directed to the Town Clerk’s office at 617-993-2600.