GIRLS STATE FINALS BOXSCORES
Galloway, Veal key explosive 2nd half for first title since ’13
SPRINGFIELD CENT. 61 , BRAINTREE 45
SPRINGFIELD CENTRAL (61) — Ishanna Brown 4-4-12, Jaliena Sanchez 2-0-4, Phyness Baldwin 6-1-14, Sha’raya Haines 6-1-17, Makayla Thomspon 2-7-11, MaKayla Rudder 1-0-2, Alayah Sweeney 0-1-1. Totals 21-14-61
BRAINTREE (45) — Adriana Timberlake 0-2-2, Jenna Roche 2-2-7, Rachel Tutkus 1-1-3, Madeline Fay 0-1-1, Keelah Dixon 4-4-14, Isabella Tonetti 1-2-4, Mackenzie Moore 4-0-12, Allyson Dillon 1-0-2. Totals 13-12-45 SPRINGFLD C. (22-3) 8 12 18 23 — 61 BRAINTREE (21-5) 12 18 6 9 — 45 3-PT FG — S, 5 (Haines 4, Baldwin); B, 7 (Moore 4, Dixon 2, Roche) MEDFIELD 47, ARLINGTON CATH. 34 MEDFIELD (47) — Maggie McCarthy 3-4-12, Sophia Ouimette 4-2-11, Lauren Casieri 4-1-9, Emma Anderson 3-0-8, Ali Petit 2-0-5, Megan Zona 1-0-2. Totals 17-7-47
ARLINGTON CATHOLIC (34) — Erin Donlan 6-014, Monica Royo 4-0-8, Lena Perez 1-3-5, Anastasia Maniatis 1-0-3, Alex Ball 0-2-2, Julia Mattera 1-0-2. Totals 13-5-34 MEDFIELD (23-2) 11 12 17 7 — 47 ARLINGTON (18-7) 10 3 12 9 — 34 3-PT FG — M, 6 (Anderson (2), McCarthy (2), Ouimette, Petit); A, 3 (Donlan (2), Maniatis) ABP. WILLIAMS 62, HOOSAC VAL. 37 ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS (62) — Shannon Kelley 2-0-5, Asiah Dingle 4-6-15, Megan Donovan 3-0-8, Mollie Manning 1-0-2, Kaitlynn Smith 1-0-2, Erica Silvia 0-1-1, Jessica Knight 5-1-11, Megan Marcel 2-2-7, Monica Spain 3-0-6, Bridgette O’Reilly 2-0-5. Totals 23-10-62
HOOSAC VALLEY (37) — Alex Mercier 1-0-3, Fallon Field 2-5-10, Alison Mendel 2-3-7, Skylar Case 2-2-8, Kailynne Frederick 3-3-9. Totals 10-13-37 WILLIAMS (22-4) 16 16 12 18 — 62 HOOSAC (22-3) 14 8 3 12 — 37 3-PT FG — A, 6 (Kelley, Dingle, Donovan, Marcel, O’Reilly); H, 4 (Mercier, Field, Case) CATHEDRAL 61, QUABOAG 32 CATHEDRAL (61) — Mackenzie Daleba 7-2-16, Masseny Kaba 6-3-15, Dejah Jenkins 4-1-10, Jessica Davis 3-0-6, Taliyah Countrymon 2-0-5, Amani Boston 1-1-3, Lara Matos 0-2-2, Kiara Ansley 1-0-2, Sarah Richi 1-0-2. Totals 25-9-61
QUABOAG (32) — Alexia Paquette 6-1-13, Shaylah Dorman 2-2-6, Cassidy Paquette 2-0-4, Emma Stanton 1-0-3, Kiarra Dorman 1-1-3, Jillian Routhier 1-0-2, Kayla Klein 0-11. Totals 13-5-32 CATHEDRAL (19-4) 21 17 17 6 — 61 QUABOAG (18-7) 10 5 8 9 — 32 3-PT FG — C, 2 (Dejah Jenkins, Taliyah Countrymon); Q, 1 (Emma Stanton)
SPRINGFIELD — It was a four-year journey on a road that was anything but smooth.
BRIGHTON 82 NASHOBA 58
But when the ride made its final stop yesterday at the MassMutual Center, all of the ups and downs, all of the disappointments and lessons learned came pouring out on the court after Brighton captured its first Division 2 state championship since 2013, with a hard-earned 82-58 victory over Nashoba.
As has been their trademark all season long, the Bengals mobilized as a collective unit, utilizing their depth and big-game experience to turn what was a 35-34 halftime deficit into a 58-39 lead after three quarters before combating a fourth-quarter charge from the Chieftains with a gameending 18-4 run that put the state final to bed.
“I am going to be at a loss for words, but I am very proud of this team,” said Brighton coach Hugh Coleman “It is not the easiest circumstance what these kids have to deal with on a daily basis, but we make it work, and these kids put forth the hard work. So, when I think about this championship, there is a lot of growth from freshman year until now, and that is what makes me so proud.”
Brighton (23-5) jumped out to a 16-13 lead after one as Willie Veal (11 points) and Quincy Taylor (six) provided the early offense. But Nashoba, behind the shooting of Andrew Fish (16 points, four 3’s), outscored the Bengals 22-18 in the second quarter to grab the onepoint lead at the break.
But then the tide changed.
Senior Jordan Galloway (16 points) buried a 3-pointer to start the second half, and after a transition bucket later in the quarter from junior Johnny Ortiz closed out a 12-0 run, Brighton was in full control at 51-37. In the third, the Bengals outscored Nashoba, 24-4.
“We have been in that position before (trailing at halftime),” Coleman said. “So, when we were facing that adversity we stayed in character — what we’ve worked on and what we’ve built — and they came out in the third quarter and did it. It was awesome.”
Brighton eventually pushed its lead in the fourth quarter to 64-42, but to their credit, the Chieftains (21-4) fought back with a 12-0 run behind the play of Fish and Justin Peirce (20 points), but senior Tyrone Perry scored all nine of his points in the Bengals’ late scoring run to secure yet another state championship for Brighton.