By Harry Kane

In the wake of the passing of sophomore guard Taylor Machado’s father, Dave Machado, a somber mood was felt at the opening of Tuesday night’s game, which was dedicated to his memory. That didn’t last long, as the Highlanders were as determined as ever and fought hard to overcome the recent loss.

The Spartans broke out early scoring multiple baskets in the first minute of play. At the end of the first half the Highlanders were down by only nine points.

The Highlanders bounced back in the second half shooting back-to-back jump shots. Indira Evora was on fire with several nice outside shots and proved to be double trouble for the Spartans. She hit a 3 pointer to bring the Highlanders up to 30 points by the end of the third quarter.

With 4 minutes remaining Somerville was down by 10 points with the score at 41-51 in favor of Lynn. No scoring for the next two minutes kept spectators on edge as the game neared an end.

Somerville fought hard but was defeated by the mighty Spartans in an end score of 57-44.

Indira Evora finished the night with 17 points, Melissa Baptista with 9 points and Ella Tyler with seven points.

The Somerville Highlanders are 9-9 and are co-champions of the Great Boston League, tied with Medford. They qualify for a post-season tournament. The highlanders plan to regroup on their off time and practice so that they can defeat their next opponents.