By Bill Gillman
FITCHBURG -- Without Lisa Castellano in the lineup, North Middlesex is still a pretty good girls' basketball team. With the junior point guard on the floor, the Pats become almost unbeatable.
Castellano, playing just her third game since returning from a knee injury suffered during the soccer season, popped in 11 points and had six steals to lead North Middlesex Regional to a 76-48 pummeling of Fitchburg High, Monday night at the Brickyard.
"She's not quite yet 100 percent but she's getting there," said North Middlesex coach Pat Murphy. "We're a whole different team with her in the lineup."
North Middlesex was expected to be able to use its huge height advantage to dominate the game from the inside. But Castellano, Julie Mello and Lisa Girolamo dominated the battle of the guards, beating Fitchburg at its own game. The Red Raiders, whose fast- break style depends on forcing turnovers, themselves turned the ball over 31 times, including a whopping 22 in the first half alone.
North Middlesex (6-2) was able to contain Fitchburg's 1-2 punch of Shelly Richard and Sara Thomas. Richard didn't start due to an ankle injury but she still managed to lead FHS with 11 points. Thomas was held to just five points, all in the second half. Both had been averaging nearly 20 points a game.
"It wasn't their height that beat us today. They out-hustled us all over the court," said Fitchburg coach Tony Alario, whose club dropped to 6-2. "North Middlesex showed up to play, we showed up to watch."
Senior center Jessica Veysey paced North Middlesex with 16 points and 15 rebounds. As expected, the Pats dominated the paint, enjoying a 47-21 edge on the glass. North Middlesex scored 16 points off of offensive rebounds.
Fitchburg's Alyssa Gauvin (seven points, five rebounds, two blocks) and Taryn Paul battled gamely but could not batch up with the Pats' front line which boasts three six-footers.
North MIddlesex settled matters over the last eight minutes of the first half. With the score tied, 12-12, the Pats went on a 21-4 run to take a 33-16 lead. The Pats began the second half with a similar run and the lead peaked at 63-33 with 8:20 left in the game.
Janet Davenport added nine points for North Middlesex. Jen McGonagle and Mello added eight apiece.