Melissa Cuevas sparks O'Bryant girls' basketball to Boston City League championship
O'Bryant (17-2) took an early lead and never gave it up, although Snowden (19-1) made several runs to keep the game competitive.
Junior forward Melissa Cuevas led the Tigers with 19 points and 22 rebounds, and senior forward Nia Buyu added 8 points.
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But the key to victory was O'Bryant's defensive intensity, particularly in the second half. The Tigers held the Cougars to just 14 second-half points and won the fourth quarter by a 13-4 margin.
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'We were able to get some turnovers and some easy buckets on the other end,' said Smallwood. 'We've been hanging our hat on our defense all year.'
O'Bryant 's Aissatou Bangura, (2) and teammates celebrate after defeating Snowden to win the Boston City League girls' basketball championship Thursday at Madison Park.
Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Early on, O'Bryant struggled to contain Snowden freshman guard Jenalis Mercado, who scored 21 of her 27 points in the first half and was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Mercado's brilliance kept the Cougars within three points of O'Bryant at halftime, and at the end of the third quarter.
But the Tigers found ways to slow Mercado down the stretch.
'We were making sure that everybody was pressing the ball and we didn't let her shoot any threes,' said Cuevas. 'We were just making sure we were hustling and being quick on defense.'
Cuevas added that the City League title had been O'Bryant's goal since the start of the season — especially since the team lost to New Mission in the semifinals last year.
'We locked in,' Cuevas said. 'We all communicated to win.'
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