Today’s games are listed below.
Boys Basketball
Franklin vs. New Bedford, 12:00
Girls Basketball
Attleboro vs. Bishop Feehan, 6:00
Franklin vs. Belmont, 12:30 (@ Woburn)
King Philip vs. Wellesley, 1:00 (@ Westwood)
Milford @ Hopedale, 6:30
Boys Hockey
Attleboro vs. Plymouth North, 11:00AM (@ Martha’s Vineyard Arena)
Every little kid who plays sports dreams of playing professionally and dreams of someday representing his or her country, whether it be the Olympics or the World Cup or maybe the World Lacrosse Championships (see Foxboro’s Sophia Dicenso, who was featured last week). Former Franklin star Kristi Kirshe, a former soccer state champion with the Panthers and Div. III national champion at Williams College, recently fulfilled that dream, although not in a sport she would have ever imagined.
A former standout in soccer, lacrosse, and basketball at Franklin (being named MVP in soccer and lax as a senior), and a two-time All-American at Williams, Kirshe has achieved her dream of being a professional athlete as a rising star in rugby.
Kirshe recently played with the bronze-medal-winning U.S. Women’s Eagles Sevens at the HSBC Sydney (Australia) Sevens tournament and scored five tries in three matches and is a full-time resident at the U.S. rugby base in Chula Vista, Calif., despite having not even picked up a rugby ball until one year ago this week.
“I’d say this one tops it all,” Kirshe said this week about how playing for the U.S. stacks up to all that she has achieved in sports. “I think I said when we won the state title in soccer that it was a dream come true but I’m pretty sure putting on the USA rugby jersey topped that.
“Getting to play professionally, getting to play internationally, it’s something you dream about as a little kid. I thought soccer was going to be the sport to get me there and when it didn’t happen I kind of gave up on it and it’s amazing that this opportunity is back in my life and I’m chasing the dream again.”
When Kirshe graduated from Williams, there was an immediate void. She had played competitive team sports her whole life, from youth leagues, including Pop Warner football, through high school and to one of the top DIII college programs in the country. Now, she was left working out by herself and trying to sate her competitive juices playing rec soccer once a week.
Kirshe said, “I was trying to figure out what my life was post-competitive sports and I didn’t like it too much, so I was trying to find another sport to play. I think I really missed the team environment the most, being around people that are working towards a common goal.
“Graduating college was the first time that I didn’t have a sport going on and honestly I felt pretty lost. I didn’t really know what to do with myself. It’s always been something that I did, it’s always been part of me as a person, so not having that was really hard.”
It was her former Franklin teammate Grace Conley, who played rugby at Boston University, who introduced her to the potential of a new sport. Kirshe took her friend’s advice and went to an open tryout for Boston Rugby, which was getting ready to start its spring 15s season. She made an immediate impact and her new teammates convinced her to tryout for the Northeast Academy, which is a national development program for rugby.
She made the academy team and went to play a sevens tournament in California, where she impressed enough to be named to the tournament’s Dream Team. That led to her selection as one of 12 players on the Women’s Falcons team that played in the Hokkaido Governor’s Cup in Japan. In less than seven months, Kirshe went from having never played rugby before to joining a U.S. team in an international tournament.
Franklin basketball coach John Leighton said of Kirshe, who was the point guard on teams that made back-to-back Div. 1 South finals, “Her motor is just set different. Just the most competitive kid I’ve ever met. I had to change my rule on drills because she was so competitive she would do anything to win the drill.”
He showed no surprise that Kirshe was an instant success in her new sport. “If we started a ping pong team,” Leighton joked, “she’d be my first pick because she’d push herself to be the best.”
Having the eye-hand coordination of basketball and lacrosse and the tactical awareness of soccer and the physicality of all the sport she has played going all way back to Pop Warner, rugby has turned out to be a natural fit. From the culture of the sport to the rapid learning curve to being back on the field as part of a team, Kirshe is enjoying every part of this experience.
“I just think it’s one of the ultimate team sports,” she explained. “You’re going into contact so you have to always be willing to put yourself on the line for everyone around you. Whether it’s be the first person there in support when someone gets tackled or just knowing when you get tackled that someone else is going to be there to support you, you just have to each other’s back at all times, which I think is really cool.”
That experience was taken to a new level this month when she joined the official U.S. team (the Falcons are part of the U.S. developmental program) in Australia for one leg of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, which builds up to the 2020 Olympics.
“It definitely felt different wearing [a U.S. jersey] on the world series stage,” Kirshe said. It’s pretty surreal honestly. I was thinking about it a lot when I was there that I couldn’t have imagined I’d be here a year ago…I definitely took a few minutes with it before I put it on, just kind of stared at for a bit.”
On her debut against China, Kirshe, who came on as a substitute, found a seam and outran the opposition for her first of five tries in the tournament. “Everyone around me did everything perfectly and I saw a little gap and instinct just kind of kicked in,” she said. “It was definitely nerve-wracking but the second that I got the ball in my hand it felt like every other game that I’ve played. Instinct kicked in and I thought, okay avoid getting tackled and keep running.”
After experiencing the world stage, Kirshe returns to Chula Vista and the residency program to prepare with the Women’s Falcons for a tournament in Las Vegas in March. The next world series stop is in Japan in April and Kirshe hopes to be part of that team as well. It is hard to believe that this time last year, she was being pushed to give rugby a try for the first time.
“Thinking about where I was in my first practice last year,” she reflected, “I knew nothing, not a single thing. It’s just been a rapid learning curve and I feel like in every single game I play in I’m learning something new and every day at practice I’m figuring something out or something is starting to click.”
It obviously clicked enough for Kirshe to score five times against international competition and get pegged as a rising newcomer on the U.S. team. She admits that being on the U.S. team is a different level of nerves, but also that having played on the biggest stages since high school has prepared her for taking this opportunity when it presented itself.
“Playing in a national championship,” she said, “playing in high school championships, helped me be ready for big games, but still just focus on the little things and getting the little things right and being able to stay calm despite the nerves and the excitement.
“In all sports and no matter what stage you’re on, the second the whistle blows you’re just playing and I think that is kind of where I thrive.”
Mansfield and North Attleboro, this year’s Hockomock League champions from the Kelley-Rex and Davenport divisions, each earned second place finishes at the divisional state tournaments held on Friday and Saturday. Mansfield was the runner-up at the D1 State Tournament held at Metheun High, scoring 113 points. Springfield Central ran away with the state title, scoring 199.5 points. At Beverly High, the Rocketeers registered 104.5 points, second to only Central Catholic’s 167 points.
Foxboro shined at the Division 3 tournament at Wakefield High School, taking third overall. The Warriors had three wrestlers advance to the finals and had two winners, earning 105 points. Taconic won the title with 113 points and Dedham was second with 111 points.
Back in Division 1, Franklin had five wrestlers place sixth or better, earning 87.5 points which was good for seventh overall. King Philip also had a top ten finish, taking eighth overall in Division 2 with 68 points. Oliver Ames was 13th overall with 50 points while Milford earned 43 points and 19th place.
For individuals, Foxboro was the lone Hockomock school with two state champions. Shayne Kerrigan had five takedowns and two near falls in the final, earning a 15-3 major decision over Tri-County’s Patrick Griffin to win the D3 State Title at 132. In the next match, Tommy Gallagher and Tyngsboro’s Josh Ducharme went scoreless for three rounds but Gallagher earned a takedown in the overtime period, earning a 2-0 decision for the D3 State Title at 138.
Mansfield’s CJ Glaropoulos won his first state title, defeating St. John’s Prep Achilles Gikas for the crown. Glaropoulos scored a reversal with 29 seconds left in the second round, and that was enough for the 2-0 decision to win the D1 State Title at 152. The Hornets had four other wrestlers advance to the consolation match, and four won to take third place.
North Attleboro senior Mateusz Kudra continued his undefeated season with his second straight state title. Kudra earned three straight pins to advance to the final against Tewksbury’s Dylan Chandler. After a scoreless first round, Kudra got an escape early in the second, then got a takedown, and earned a near fall with six seconds left for a 5-0 advantage, which proved to be enough for the win.
Teams
1. Springfield Central – 199.5
2. Mansfield – 113
6. Franklin – 87.5
41. Taunton – 1
106
6th – Drew DiFilipo, Franklin
113
3rd – Jake Carlucci, Franklin
120
3rd – Antonios Sevastos, Mansfield
132
2nd – Jordan Carlucci, Franklin
145
3rd – Will Stratton, Mansfield
152
1st – CJ Glaropoulos, Mansfield
160
3rd – George Glaropoulos, Mansfield
5th – Caleb MacLean, Franklin
170
2nd – Dominic Sackley, Franklin
3rd – Jayden Curley, Mansfield
182
6th – Ethan Nirenberg, Mansfield
Teams
1. Central Catholic – 167
2. North Attleboro – 104.5
8. King Philip – 68
13. Oliver Ames – 50
19. Milford – 43
25. Sharon – 35
27. Canton – 29
39. Stoughton – 13
106
6th – John Dobbin, Oliver Ames
113
8th – John Santos, Stoughton
120
6th – Ethan Smith, North Attleboro
7th – Carlos Terrinha, Milford
132
7th – Harry Carter, Canton
8th – Jon Lozinski, North Attleboro
138
2nd – Michael Burns, North Attleboro
5th – Huguens Pierre, Sharon
145
2nd – Mohammed Lotfi, King Philip
152
2nd – Nick Marcolini, Milford
4th – Michael Edmonds, North Attleboro
170
3rd – Billy Tat, Oliver Ames
4th – Cole Murphy, Canton
6th – Matt Warsofsky, North Attleboro
182
4th – Luke Fitch, King Philip
195
2nd – Shawn Conniff, King Philip
4th – Dean Pacini, Oliver Ames
6th – Alex Bolt, Sharon
220
8th – John Kummer, North Attleboro
285
1st – Mateusz Kudra, North Attleboro
Teams
1. Taconic – 113
3. Foxboro – 105
120
3rd – Adam Lanctot, Foxboro
132
1st – Shayne Kerrigan, Foxboro
138
1st – Tommy Gallagher, Foxboro
220
2nd – William Ogebebor, Foxboro
285
6th – William McNeil, Foxboro
Today’s games are listed below.
Girls Basketball
Franklin, 50 vs. Braintree, 53 – Final – The Panthers battled back in the final two minutes to close the gap after the Wamps had opened a 10-point lead but couldn’t get any closer than three points. Ali Brigham scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Erin Quaile added 11 points, including a three-pointer with 0.6 on the clock.
Boys Hockey
Attleboro, 4 @ Martha’s Vineyard, 5 – Final (3OT) – Ryan Morry scored twice but the Bombardiers fell in triple overtime to Martha’s Vineyard. For MIAA purposes, the game will go down as a tie. Sam Larkin and Cam Littig each scored once for Attleboro.
Canton, 3 @ Natick, 0 – Final
King Philip, 3 @ Walpole, 4 – Final – Walpole cashed in for three power play goals on its way to a close win over King Philip. The Rebels and Warriors were knotted at 1-1 after one period of play but Walpole scored three straight goals in the second period to seize a 4-1 lead going into the third. KP scored twice in the third and outshot Walpole 32-23 in the game but couldn’t find the equalize to keep its playoff hopes alive. Brendan Shandley (from Conor Cooke), Joe Boselli (from Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jack Coulter), and Fitzpatrick (from Rocco Bianculli) scored for KP.
Mansfield, 2 @ Winthrop, 2 – Final – Mansfield scored twice in the second period to seize the lead but Winthrop scored a late equalizer to finish level. After trailing 1-0 through 15 minutes, freshman Cam Paige and junior Kevin Belanger scored second period goals to put the Hornets ahead. Mansfield killed a five minute major in the third and came within inches of an empty net goal but Winthrop scored with the goalie pulled with 40 seconds left to tie the game.
North Attleboro, 1 @ Bishop Feehan, 2 – Final
Oliver Ames, 1 vs. Quincy, 2 – Final – Oliver Ames junior Duncan Pereira put the Tigers ahead 1:34 into the game but Quincy scored once in each the second and third periods to get the win. Owen Connor had a strong game in net for OA.
Stoughton, 3 vs. Apponequet, 3 – Final – Stoughton senior Sean Doherty scored with 30 seconds left in the game, his second strike of the game, to help the Black Knights earn a tie with Apponequet. Luke Bainton also scored for Stoughton.
Taunton, 2 @ Brookline, 6 – Final
Girls Hockey
Canton, 0 vs. Hingham, 2 – Final
Franklin, 5 @ Leominster, 3 – Final – Cassi Ronan recorded three points while Amanda Lewandowski and Regan Paterson each had a pair of points in Franklin’s win on the road over Leominster. Ronan scored twice and had one assists, Lewandowski added two goals, Paterson had two helpers and Tina Pisano scored once for the Panthers. Katelyn Brown and Gianna Cameron each added an assist while Gianna Cornetta made 12 stops in the win.
Mansfield/Oliver Ames, 4 @ Milton, 1 – Final – Kylie O’Keefe, Ella Waryas, and Sam Ledin each scored as MOA skated to a win over Milton. O’Keefe and Waryas each scored in the first period while Waryas and Ledin found the back of the net in the second period for the Warriors.
Stoughton, 1 vs. Whitman-Hanson, 6 – Final
FRANKLIN, Mass. – For the Franklin boys basketball team, terrific defense led to easy offense.
And that combination resulted in a dominant performance and a comfortably 57-36 win over visiting Attleboro.
The Panthers flipped a two-point game upside down with a 20-0 run over the final six minutes of the second quarter to pull away from the Bombardiers, who entered the contest with a chance to win at least a share of its first Kelley-Rex title.
Franklin limited the visitors to just 22% shooting from the field in the opening half as the Bombardiers couldn’t find a connection from deep, going just 1-for-17 from three-point range. And with consistent stops, Franklin’s pushed the pace and cashed in with an impressive transition offense, converting some easy looks down low. Franklin shot 65% from the field in the opening half, making 12-of-18 shots from two-point range.
“That was definitely our best game of the season, by far,” said Franklin head coach CJ Neely. “The guys were excited to play tonight, there’s no doubt about it. I think they were a little sore about how last game went and how the season has gone in some respects. They wanted to make a statement tonight and I thought they did, especially in that second quarter. We went in at halftime, and we usually have a list of things we want to change or that we did poorly, and we didn’t have many things on the list. The guys really bought in, that was the best they’ve bought in to a game plan and scouting report all season.”
While Attleboro only had four first half turnovers, it couldn’t solve the Panthers defensively. During Franklin’s game-changing run, Attleboro only had one turnover on a shot clock violation, and 0-for-11 from the field, with eight of those shots coming from three-point range.
“They did everything better than us tonight, offensively and defensively,” said Attleboro coach Mark Houle. “They made us really feel uncomfortable all night, and we didn’t have any answers.
“We didn’t hit [a three] in the first quarter but I have confidence in our guys that can shoot it, we can get hot, but we didn’t get enough paint touches. [Franklin] did a nice job of taking that away early, something that most teams haven’t been able to do. That limited us really. But quite honestly, we weren’t executing on offense. There were still things that we could have done, but we weren’t executing, and that led to a stagnant offense. And we couldn’t attack the rim because their defense was set. That was a very good defensive effort by them.”
Franklin led 15-7 after the first quarter but Attleboro opened the second quarter with a quick 5-0 run to make it a two-point game. Bryant Ciccio (11 points) drained a three and Kevin Velazquez picked off a pace and went the distance for a layup to make it 15-13.
From there, it was all Panthers. Jalen Samuels (15 points, nine rebounds, four assists) converted his own putback and then scored off a feed from Chris Edgehill (seven points, seven rebounds, seven assists). Will Harvey (career-high 19 points, nine rebounds) sank a three-pointer off a feed from Jack Rudolph, then Edgehill came down with a defensive rebound, pushed it up court and found Rudolph for two. Samuels then drove to the basket, drew in the defense and dished it off to Harvey for an easy two and a 26-13 lead with 3:43 left in the second quarter.
The Bombardiers tried to shoot their way out of the funk, taking six triples on their next seven possessions. The lone trip that didn’t result in a three-point attempt was a turnover on a shot clock violation.
Meanwhile, Franklin continued to cash in on the offensive end. Edgehill got some space in the lane for two, Jake Macchi (nine points) sank a three on a pass from Rudolph just moments after Samuels blocked an Attleboro three, and Samuels scored in low on a floater to put Franklin up 35-13 heading into halftime.
“Getting out in transition was key for us, getting up and down,” Neely said. “And when we attacked the paint, I think the biggest thing was getting in there and then making the extra pass for some dunks and some layups.”
The second half was much more even than the first, but the damage was already done by the Panthers. Tim Callahan made Attleboro’s second triple of the game with 2:44 left in the quarter (2-for-21 from deep through three), Ciccio added five points, including Attleboro’s only two free throws in the game, and Qualeem Charles (eight points, 10 rebounds) got an early bucket, but Franklin got points from Macchi (a three), Harvey (five) and two apiece from Edgehill and Rudolph to hold a 47-24 advantage entering the fourth.
“One of the biggest things we worked on was long closeouts,” Neely said. “We practiced having to get there and get there with a hand without flying into the crowd. We’re going to have to live with them making a couple. We knew we’d have to focus on Q, you can’t let one guy try and do it himself. I thought Harvey played one of his best games this season, and he rebounded really well and played great defensively.”
Attleboro’s defense limited the Panthers to 10 points in the fourth, but only scored 12 on its own. Mason Houle sank two threes in the fourth, the latter cutting the deficit to 15 points but with only three minutes to go. Harvey added four in the final frame and Matt Lazarek came off the bench to hit a triple for the Panthers, who shot 56% from the floor for the game and dominated the rebounding battle, 33-18.
“We had some good looks, but they were mostly contested shots,” Houle said. “We have to regroup. We have the opportunity to learn from this. We didn’t do many good things tonight on either end tonight. Their transition offense, we didn’t do a good enough job against it. That led to 20 straight points…and just layups. It was them getting the rebound and pushing it for a layup.”
Franklin boys basketball (12-4 Hockomock, 14-5 overall) is back in action on Sunday with a noon tipoff against New Bedford. Attleboro (13-3, 16-4) will try to bounce back when it travels to rival North Attleboro for a non-league clash on Monday.
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Foxboro won a state title last season using mostly a six-player rotation, but this year’s squad relies on eight or more players to contribute in different ways every game. On Friday night at North Attleboro, the Warriors needed every bit of that depth to come away from the Pickering Gym with a win.
The league’s top scoring team was held without a made field goal in the first quarter, the league’s second leading scorer, Katelyn Mollica, was held to just six made free throws for the night, and one of Foxboro’s starters, Yara Fawaz, was limited by illness to only a few minutes on the court, but Foxboro still had three players score in double figures and rolled to a 60-29 victory.
“At this time of the year, knowing that I can go eight kids deep and that they can all contribute offensively is huge because last year we couldn’t go that deep,” said Foxboro coach Lisa Downs. “That was the fewest points Mollica’s ever had and we can still beat a team by 20-plus points.”
In many ways, the Rocketeers match up well with the Warriors in terms of athleticism and they came out with a game plan to stop the driving lanes, close out hard on shooters, and be as active as possible on the defensive end.
For eight minutes, it worked perfectly. Foxboro was held without a made basket in the first quarter, scoring all five points from the line, including 4-of-4 for Mollica. The problem for the Rocketeers was on the offensive end. North only made three shots of its own and led by just two points after one. Eliza Dion scored four of her six in the first and Colette Petit drilled a three.
Junior center Shakirah Ketant scored Foxboro’s first basket to tie the game at the start of the second quarter, but Amanda Kaiser answered back with a three to regain the lead. It was the last lead that North would hold, as the Warriors went on a 24-2 run to take control.
“It was a great start for us,” said North coach Derek Herber. “You know going in that you have to stop Mollica and then you just hope and pray no one else is hitting, which in that first quarter we played great defense to do that. The problem is they played great defense and we can’t score on the other end. We hung in there until the middle of the second quarter.”
Lizzy Davis scored nine of her 14 points in the second to spark the Foxboro run, while Chelsea Gibbons added five of her 14. After scoring only five points in the first quarter, Foxboro scored 23 in the second, while holding North to just a handful. Davis knocked down a dagger three-pointer as the half ended, helped by Abby Hassman (nine rebounds) chasing down a loose ball.
“It was a dagger,” Herber said about Davis’ buzzer beater. “It just switched the whole tenor of the half…it kind of deflated the kids.”
He added, “We hang in there and we do a lot of good things, but we just can’t score. You feel for everybody, but we go through stretches. We’re just on the cusp. Hopefully it’s a building process and we’re learning from these things.”
In the third quarter, the Warriors extended the lead. Gibbons had a steal under the North basket for a layup plus the foul and then Davis nailed a three to push the lead to 20 points. Jordyn Collins knocked down a jumper and Anita Busznyak twice scored on drives to the basket. Although Regan Fein and Michelle Pothier scored for North, the visitors led 42-19 after three.
Downs explained, “To go into tournament knowing that we have other girls who can contribute when [Katelyn] is being shut down is huge. Shakirah had kind of a breakthrough, Lizzy is back in the scoring, and Chelsea has been pretty consistent.”
North tried to cut into the lead in the fourth quarter, with Kaiser (eight rebounds) getting a layup off an Olivia Forbes steal and then Forbes following with a three off a Kaiser assist and Julia Feid added three points, but Ketant proved to be too much for the Rocketeers to handle in the post.
She scored off a putback, a post move from the left block, and off a steal under the North basket. Ketant had 10 of her game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter alone, and she also added 12 rebounds as well.
“She was the difference maker today,” said Herber about Ketant’s impact. “In the first game, they didn’t really have a post presence, so we were able to do some things. She was a beast today and just able to take control in there to give them another option.”
Foxboro (16-2, 14-2) will head into its annual Warrior Classic to face Old Rochester on Monday night in a battle of the two teams tied for the top seed in Div. 2 South. North Attleboro (6-14, 4-12) will close out its season on Thursday against Weston.
Today’s games are listed below.
Boys Basketball
Attleboro, 36 @ Franklin, 57 – Final – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.
Milford, 46 @ Canton, 52 – Final – Canton senior Devin Foster poured in a game-high 28 points, including a three-pointer in the first quarter that made him the all-time leading scorer in Bulldog basketball history, passing Brian Pendergast (1,179 points in 2000). Foster (12 rebounds) scored 12 points in the opening quarter, and then 14 in the second half to help Canton turn a halftime deficit into a win. Milford led 23-20 at the break but the Bulldogs scored 18 points in the third to seize the lead (38-31) with both Ryan Lentol (10 points) and Robbie Gallery scoring five in the frame. Milford’s Brendan White scored 17 of his team-high 20 points in the second half and Danny Corsini added 14 points for the Hawks.
North Attleboro, 47 @ Foxboro, 48 – Final – Foxboro senior Anthony Mollica sank both ends of a one-and-one situation from the foul line with 2.9 seconds to lift the Warriors to a win and a spot in the state tournament. The Rocketeers led by one after a 9-0 run and had the ball with 31 seconds left in the game, and 24 seconds left on the shot clock, but couldn’t extend the lead. Mollica drove to the basket as time ticked away and was able to draw a foul on the floor, with the Rocketeers in the bonus. North Attleboro led 26-20 at half and 36-33 going into the final quarter. An early run from the Warriors put the hosts ahead, leading 46-38. North responded with a 9-0 run, Josh Montague hitting back-to-back baskets to put the Rocketeers up 47-46. Foxboro junior Brandon Borde had a game-high 17 points while Mollica finished with 10, seven coming in the final quarter. Josh Porter, Ethan Friberg, and Jake Petersen each had eight points for North.
Oliver Ames, 66 @ King Philip, 71 – Final (OT) – King Philip overcame a 22-point second half deficit to force overtime and shock Oliver Ames. The Tigers jumped ahead 34-21 by halftime, and extended the lead to as much as 22 before taking a 55-37 lead into the final eight minutes. King Philip held OA to just three points in the final quarter, dropping 21 points of their own to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra period, with KP up by two, senior Bruce Saintilus (27 points) hauled in an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and sank two free throws of his own to extend the lead to four with 10 seconds left to secure the win. Saintilus scored nine points in the fourth quarter comeback and was 6-for-6 from the line in overtime. Juniors Alex Fritz and Andrew McKinney each added 15 points for KP, who scored 34 points over the final 12 minutes after netting just 36 over the course of the first three quarters. Sean O’Brien had a team-high 14 points, Owen Friel added 12 points and Jake Erlich finished with 11 points for OA.
Taunton, 56 @ Mansfield, 65 – Final – Mansfield pulled away late to secure the Kelley-Rex division title, a record seventh straight for the Hornets, surpassing Oliver Ames’ six straight from 1981-1986. Mansfield held a 16-13 lead after a quarter of play, and took a 30-27 advantage into halftime. Taunton continued to battle, taking a brief 41-40 lead late in the third and went into the fourth quarter tied 44-44. Mansfield made a 8-3 run over a three minute span in the fourth quarter to create enough separation for the win. Damani Scott had a team-high 15 points along with 11 rebounds, Sam Stevens added 13 points, and TJ Guy finished with 11 points. Taunton junior Dante Law had a team-high 21 points.
Sharon, 36 @ Stoughton, 80 – Final – Stoughton combined to score 45 points between the second and third periods, running away with a big win over Sharon to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2012. The Black Knights connected on an impressive 31 two-point field goals, with 10 players getting on the scoresheet and six of them scoring nine points or more. Junior Obinna Ugwuakazi scored a team-high 13 points, sophomore Brett Pendenza added 11 points, senior Zak Paquette and junior Ahmad Jahed each scored 10 points, and senior Kevin Dixon and junior Myles Grigalunas-Powell each finished nine points. Aidan Kane had a team-high 12 points for Sharon.
Girls Basketball
Franklin 54 @ Attleboro, 63 – Final – Liv McCall and Mackenzie Roberts both scored career-highs and Attleboro head coach Marty Crowley called the game a “phenomenal effort” by the Bombardiers to hand the Panthers their first league loss of the season. McCall scored 18 points and Roberts added 17 to lead Attleboro to the upset. Bea Bondhus had 13 points and Meghan O’Connell had 12 for the Panthers.
Canton, 58 @ Milford, 32 – Final – Canton matched its highest win total since 1995 with its 13th win of the season. Maggie Connolly led the way with 13 points, Sydney Gallery added 12 and Kiara Cerruti scored 11 for the Bulldogs.
Foxboro 60 @ North Attleboro, 29 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
King Philip, 60 @ Oliver Ames, 69 – Final – A pair of underclassman each scored over 20 points for the Tigers, helping Oliver Ames fend off visiting King Philip. Sophomore Caroline Flynn had a career-high 25 points and hauled in 11 rebounds while freshman Caroline Peper scored a career-high 26 points for OA. Shannon O’Connor led three Warriors in double digits with 23 points, but KP couldn’t find a way back after falling behind early, trailing 32-23 at half. Brianna James scored 13 points and Faye Veilleux added 11 for KP.
Mansfield, 47 @ Taunton, 36 – Final – Mansfield took control of the game in the third quarter, breaking open a 20-20 halftime tie by scoring 19 points in the third. Maggie Danehy scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Sydney Mulkern added nine for the Hornets. Sonya Fernandez was the top scorer for the Tigers with 15 points and Lily Patneaude added eight.
Stoughton, 46 @ Sharon, 55 – Final – Emma Eberhardt closed out the season with 15 points to help the Eagles sweep the season series with the Black Knights and finish with nine wins. Kaitlyn Wallace added 13 and Telishya Herbert had 10 in the win. Sophomore Sydnee Hyacinthe scored 18 points for Stoughton.
Today’s game is listed below.
Girls Basketball
Milford, 30 @ Stoughton, 74 – Final – In its last Hockomock League game inside the current Stoughton High gym, the Black Knights girls basketball team picked up a a 74-30 win over visiting Milford. Sydnee Hyacinthe had a team-high 13 points while Shyanne Trinh and Hailey Egan each scored 12 points.
