Freitas, St. Mary’s skate by Shrewsbury
Bella Freitas was not on the ice last March when the St. Mary’s girls’ hockey team lost to Shrewsbury in the Division 1 state final. But she was in the crowd at TD Garden and knew the pain the Spartans felt in defeat.
As a freshman, Freitas was the difference in the rematch Thursday night.
The Catholic Central MVP scored both goals, including the winner with 3:24 to play, to power the second-seeded Spartans to a 2-1 victory over seventh-seeded Shrewsbury in a Division 1 quarterfinal at John. A Ryan Arena in Watertown.
“I know [my teammates] had a lot of revenge and motivation going into this game,” Freitas said. “It also gave me a lot of motivation to just shoot the puck if I could and make plays if I knew that it was the right one.”
On the power play late in the third, Freitas received a pass along the goal line, calmly walked it in close, and roofed a backhand to help the Spartans regain the lead.
“Bella is clutch,” said St. Mary’s coach Frank Pagliuca. “That backhand was pretty special . . . they were very physical on her, they put people in her face, but she kept playing. It’s a testament to her and her compete level to elevate her game in the third period.”
Archbishop Williams 4, Belmont 0 — Catherine Lacey scored twice and Kathryn McLeish made 16 saves as the 11th-seeded Bishops (12-10-2) blanked No. 14 Belmont/Watertown (15-3-3) in a quarterfinal at the Bog Ice Arena.
Shea Nolan and Caroline Batchelder also scored. Jill Costa made 23 saves for Belmont (15-3-3).
Division 2 State
Falmouth 4, Canton 3 (2 OTs) — Freshman goaltender Aspen Devlin came up with a number of key saves in overtime and junior forward Riley Devlin banged in a rebound off a two-on-one to give the second-seeded Clippers (22-2-1) the quarterfinal win over No. 7 Canton (19-5-1) at the Bog Ice Arena in Kingston.
In three-on-three play in the second OT, Rylinn Briggs led the counterattack through the neutral zone and put a backhand on Canton netminder Kate Budway, who made the initial stop, but Devlin came down the left side and sent the Clippers into Sunday’s semifinals against the winner of the Burlington/Marshfield quarterfinal. Marshfield 2, Burlington 0 — Facing a barrage of shots in the third period, there was no deterring Morgan Murphy. The Rams sophomore goaltender kept flashing her glove, sliding out a pad, or diving on a rebound, doing so in rhythm with the Marshfield student section chanting her name. It didn’t matter that she faced 33 shots from third-seeded Burlington (19-2-2).
Her heroics powered the No. 11 Rams (15-8) to their first semifinal at John A. Ryan Arena.
Murphy found success in the second, buoyed by goals from freshman Julia Lemire (power play) and senior Kayla Leonard (shorthanded). And with the Rams facing an onslaught from Burlington (19-2-2) in the third, Murphy simply would not break.
Boys’ basketball
Division 3 State
Pittsfield 76, Medfield 65 — In a quarterfinal matchup that was neck-and-neck for three quarters, the third-seeded Generals (16-5) pulled away with a 26-16 margin late to oust No. 6 Medfield (18-6) in a state quarterfinal.
Medfield had rattled off seven straight wins before the road loss.
Girls’ basketball
Division 4 State
Pittsfield 53, Cohasset 46 (OT) — In a thrilling quarterfinal, CC Gurek (team-high 9 points) emerged the hero for the third-seeded Tigers (20-3), pulling up from NBA-range with two minutes to go in overtime and sinking a 3-pointer to give hosts a 5-point lead.
Senior Sarah Chenette closed out her stellar career with a 30-point, 10-rebound performance for the No. 6 Skippers (14-8).
Division 1 State
Wachusett 67, Weymouth 44 — The No. 2 Mountaineers (20-0) marched to a 40-16 halftime cushion and followed the lead of Mary Gibbons (14 points), Jae Scott (7 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 steals) to the quarterfinal victory over No. 7 Weymouth (20-5) in Holden.