Gateway’s Brooke Fairman, right, looks for the shot as Holyoke Catholic’s Katie Klejna defends the play. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
HUNTINGTON – Stop the presses!
If any sports story out of Gateway Regional deserves a brief pause or a screaming headline from the hardwood it should revolve around the girls’ hoops program.
On Monday, the Gateway High girls’ hoops team stopped a nearly 90-game losing streak Bi-County League teams, defeating visiting Holyoke Catholic 35-26.
“It is definitely the next step for our program – to have a good quality win against somebody outside the Tri-County,” Gateway coach Eli Robbins said.
Brooke Fairman netted a double-double (14 points, 17 rebounds) to lead Gateway (4-2), which led 7-1 at the end of the first quarter.
“It gave us our confidence and we rolled from there,” Robbins said.
Kaitlyn Mastello and Jessie Walton had six and five points, respectively, for Gateway. But more importantly, the two players helped stifle Holyoke Catholic’s offense.
“We had good solid rebounds, and we hustled our butts off,” Robbins said.
Still, Holyoke Catholic stormed back, rallying to within one point with less than three minutes remaining. Chelsea Derrig (6 points) made the sure the Gaels would not get over the hump by draining a 3-pointer.
Becca Williams (3 points) and Ariel Baillargeon (1) also scored for Gateway. Lindsay Robbins (14 points) led Holyoke Catholic. Robbins made three 3-pointers.
