Medfield storms by Billerica
MEDFIELD >> In a wire-towire victory, it was the Medfield defense that overshadowed the return of star senior captain Kate Olenik in a Division 2 second-round matchup against Billerica.
The second-seeded Warriors forced 16 turnovers and allowed just 12 points through the first three quarters en route to a convincing 50-31 victory over the No. 15 Indians at home.
“Defensively, we played outstanding in the first half,” said Medfield coach Mark Nickerson. “We limited their opportunities. They had some opportunities that they probably could have cashed in on, but for the most part we did a good job limiting them. The girls were hustling in the half court more than the full court. The fullcourt pressure was OK, but the halfcourt defense was very good.”
Medfield (21-1) will host No. 7 Newburyport on Friday at 6 p.m. in the Div. 2 quarterfinals.
The Warriors played up on defense through the first 24 minutes of game action with 12 of the 16 turnovers coming in the second and third quarters. They allowed just 6-of-41 shooting from the field with Billerica (11-11) missing all 10 attempts from distance before draining a pair in the fourth.
“Truthfully, we are always concerned about the three,” said Nickerson about the ability to defend beyond the arc. “Look at the fact we play a lot of 2-3 zone, but we do a great job defending the three out of our zone. Our real focus was on (senior captain Sofia Mazzotta). She is pretty dynamic.”
Mazzotta showed off that skill with 10 of her team-high 14 in the fourth quarter after trailing 36-12 after three.
In the first half, the defense led to offense after a slow start as Medfield went on a 10-2 run to end the first to go up 14-4 after one.
Olenik then took over with 10 of her game-high 17 points after missing the last week and a half with a right ankle injury as Medfield led 28-8 at the half.
“The thing is she is a great scorer, but she also is creating for everyone else out there,” Nickerson said about the senior captain. “She is creating space and they are doubling down on her. They are focusing on stopping her and she is looking to get the other players the ball.”
The senior captain added six steals and six boards as well. Freshman Izzy Kittredge added eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks to help out in the post. Junior captain Annie Stanton finished with five points and 10 boards.