Derek Cordon – Director of Recap Operations

Holliston Youth Basketball will be on hiatus for the holidays and get back to it with the next scheduled games on January 8^th (next recap will be published January 13^th).  On behalf of the HYBA Board – Tom McHugh, Jason Cooper, Dee King, Scott McAdams, Michelle Friedman, and Derek Cordon, we would like to wish the Holliston Basketball Family a Safe and Happy Holiday Season.

Let’s check in on this week’s Holliston Hoops action.

Girls’ 8^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 8th grade girls (White) team had a pair of games this past weekend.  On Saturday Watertown paid a visit to the Adams Middle School and beat Holliston 33-14.  Kadence Lynch knocked down a couple of jumpers and came away with 4 points while Ella Coughlin dropped in a bucket of her own.  On Sunday the squad took an early morning trip to Waltham and lost the contest 43-22.  Kaitlyn Cordon scored her first basket of the season while Ari Carbino led the team in scoring netting 8 points in the paint.  Special thanks to Hadley McAdams and Callie Dietz for their assistance over the weekend.  Holliston will enjoy the holiday break and get back to it the first week in January. 

Girls’ 8^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 8th grade girls (Red) team had a pair of hard-fought games over the weekend.  On Saturday, the Panthers took on the Westboro Rangers.  Westboro came out on fire and took an early 11 point lead.  Holliston crawled back into the game led by Grace Gorham’s best offensive game with 13 points.  Adrianna Bulmer sank a 3 pointer in the 4th quarter to pull the Panthers within striking distance.  Callie Dietz (who finished the game with 6 points) nailed a 3 pointer with 2 seconds left, but Westboro was able to inbound the pass leading to a close 32-30 victory over Holliston.  On Sunday, Holliston travelled to North Quincy for their 2nd game of the weekend.  A slow start plagued the Panthers once again and ultimately fell 33-25 to North Quincy.  Josie Henson was excellent on both sides of the court finishing with 5 points as well as causing havoc on the North Quincy front line.  Katie Joslin caused a few key turnovers in the 4th quarter and finished the game with 5 points as well.   Aria Pajapati added 3 points and caused multiple turnovers with her signature in your face defense.  Holliston looks to get back on track after the holidays.

Girls’ 7^th Grade

The Holliston 7th grade girls team had their first home game of the season and went on to win with a 26 – 23 score against a competitive Medway team. Lucy Mancuso led the team with 8 points and 5 steals. Corinne Bailey crashed the boards leading the team with 8 rebounds. Keira Brannigan chipped in with 6 points and 6 rebounds. The team had a quick rest before they hit the hardwood bright and early on Sunday for their second game of the weekend with a match up against Newton.  The Holliston girls woke up ready to WIN…and they did by a score of 35 -24. Their intensity was high the whole game and every player contributed in some manner. Corinne Bailey corralled 17 rebounds and Lucy Mancuso had 13 steals to go along with 8 points. A balanced scoring attack also included 6 points from both Skylar MacDonald (2-2 from the FT line) and Mia Faletra (9 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists). Lily Ingoldsby grabbed 6 boards.  The whole team worked hard on defense to hold Newton to only 8 points in the first half and 16 points in the second half. The team will enjoy a holiday break and get back to the court Sunday, January 8th at Brookline.

Girls’ 6^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 6th grade girls (White) team faced their toughest opponent yet – a Winchester team running a full court press, half-court trap and switching between zone and person defense seamlessly.  Holliston came up short 24-6, however, the girls fought hard the entire game, making Winchester work for every single basket, with Holliston shutting out Winchester in the fourth quarter.  The effort was led by Emma Starr who was a force on the boards, pulling down rebound after rebound and played a critical role in breaking the Winchester press in the first half of the game.  Kaylin Hayes shut down the Winchester center playing solid defense in the middle and knocking down a huge jumper to kickstart the offense.  Ellory Avakian made several key defensive stops and contributed a critical second half bucket.  Next game is Sunday January 8th in Framingham.

Girls’ 6^th Grade (Red)

This week the Holliston 6th grade girls (Red) team hosted a challenging Hopkinton opponent.  Short-handed and against a much larger lineup, in true fashion the girls never gave up.  Hopkinton’s full court press in the first half created challenges but Emerson Harrington and Lucy Downin did their best to overcome it.  With Hopkinton up 23-6 at halftime, the girls came out more aggressive in the second half, making steals, chasing loose balls and with aggressive team defense.  Riya Yedugani had her best game of the season, and her aggressive play led to 5 rebounds.  Likewise, Chelsea Dufault had 5 steals.  Unfortunately, their efforts weren’t enough to overcome the deficit with a final score of 38-12.  Between the holidays and a bye week, the girls don’t play again until January 14th when they host Lincoln-Sudbury at the Adams Middle School.

Girls’ 5^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 5th grade girls (White) team had a pair of games over the weekend.  With only six players, the Holliston team fought hard for their win on the road against Wayland 24-18.  Gwen Miranda’s rebounding and quick outlet passes to Danika Do Rosario created a full court advantage for Holliston.  Reese Leverone contributed 4 points in the second half.  Reese continued her hot streak the next day at home against Waltham with 3 steals during the first quarter and contributing another 4 points.  Jackie Schiavoni stopped the complicated offense with her help-side defense.  It was a close game throughout with Waltham winning by four points in the end, 19-15.  Holliston will enjoy the holiday break and get back to action on January 8thhosting the team from Arlington at the Adams Middle School.

Girls’ 5^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 5th grade girls (Red) team welcomed the Red Rocketeers of North Attleboro to the Adams Middle School this weekend.  Holliston jumped out to a quick lead over their opponent and never looked back on the way to a 24-16 win.  Ella Bennett continued her offensive dominance with 10 first half points to lead Holliston in scoring.  Mia Malvey had one of her signature defensive games with 3 steals to go along with her 4 points.  Louisa Bigelow was dominant on the defensive end with 4 steals in addition to her 2 points.  Addy McAdams led the team with 2 assists to go along with 6 points. Lindsey Haynes rolled to the basket in the 4th quarter and laid in the key field goal to seal the victory for Holliston.  Holliston next takes on Berkley on January 7th at home.

Girls’ 4^th Grade

The Holliston 4th grade girls team lost Sunday afternoon to Wellesley, 16-15.  The barn burner of a game saw 5 lead changes in hard fought action by both teams.  Holliston was led in scoring by Brianna Cooper and Gwen Rosen, each scoring 6 points and both adding key buckets in the 4th quarter.  Molly Starr added 3 points to round out the Panthers scoring.  The game came down to the wire with Holliston missing a put back with 13 seconds left for the go-ahead bucket.  Kendall Hanlon’s key passes and Aarya Sharma’s 7 rebounds kept the Panthers in the game all the way to the buzzer.  Holliston travels to Dedham after the New Year for their first road game of the season.  

Boys’ 8^th Grade

The Holliston 8th grade boys team improved to 3-0 beating Wayland 60-39.  Holliston started fast outscoring Wayland 15-3 after the first quarter.  Holliston played tremendous team defense forcing Wayland to shoot low percentage shots.  The only points Wayland scored was from the free throw line in the first quarter.  Wayland made a run in the second quarter to cut the lead to 9 points, but Holliston connected on three consecutive 3-pointers which included a buzzer beater to end the half by Luke McHugh to extend the lead to 15 points.  Holliston was lights out beyond the arc finishing with nine 3-pointers for the game.  Holliston shared the ball well on offense with four players in double figures for points.  Luke McHugh led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points, Cal Leverone had 12 points, Jack McDonald scored 12 points along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists, and Ethan Suhajda added 10 points and 7 rebounds.  Ben Dufault finished with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Every player for Holliston scored in the game.  After the holiday break, the team will have a pair of games the weekend of January 14th and 15th.

Boys’ 7^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 7th grade boys (White) team only had 8 players for the game and fought hard against an aggressive Dedham squad.  Holliston scored 10 points in the 4th quarter with some gritty end to end defensive pressure, but it wasn’t quite enough to mount the comeback and they came away with a 38-23 loss.  Kolby Sweet made a picture-perfect jumper from the elbow to score his first points of the season.  In another first, Jake Rosenfeld and Bradyn Cotting both tickled the twine for the first time this season.  The big guys Max McFayden and Nathan Varghese led the way with 8 and 7 points respectively.  Brady Hastings was an iron man playing most of the game at point guard and tough defense against their best players.  Aden Khoury played strong minutes off the bench.  Following the holiday, Holliston will host Milford at the Adams Middle School on January 8^th.

Boys’ 7^th Grade (Red)

In a thrilling matchup between two talented teams, the Holliston 7th grade boys (Red) squad pulled off a 52-45 victory over their Division 3 counterparts from Lincoln-Sudbury.  Leading the way for Holliston was Sean Sullivan, who put up a strong performance with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Sullivan’s impressive outing was just one of many standout performances for Holliston, as they played with excellent teamwork and determination throughout the game. Grayden Vaughn chipped in 3 points off the bench with 2 boards, and Max Colletti drained a big three and played tough defense in the favored 1-3-1 defense.  Despite facing a tough challenge from Lincoln-Sudbury, Holliston never wavered. They stayed focused and executed their game plan to near perfection to earn the win.  The boys take a break for the holidays but will be back at it on Saturday, January 7th at Framingham.

Boys’ 6^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 6th grade boys (White) team hosted Ashland this past Sunday.  Led by leading scorer Sam Peters who scored an electric 12 points on the day (coupled with 3 rebounds), the Panthers had their highest point total of the season.  Erasing an early 5-point deficit, the boys scored 10 points in the second quarter to cut the lead to 1 point at halftime.  A physical game from the start, both teams employed a full court press throughout; after the game, the Holliston coach praised Vinny Lima’s unrelenting defensive effort.  Their second leading scorer, Charlie Peterson, scored 4 points, switched to point guard in the second half, continued to fight in the paint and pulled down 4 rebounds.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to secure the victory, as Ashland defeated Holliston 42-25 after a high scoring fourth quarter.  The Panthers next game is in the new year, on January 7th on the road against Watertown.

Boys’ 6^th Grade (Red)

After a hot start to the season, the Holliston 6th grade boys (Red) team got a slice of humble pie on Sunday in a 37-25 defeat to a strong Lexington team.  Lexington played a heavy press game and gave the coaches something to work on over the holiday break.  Eli Boggess was the star of the game with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.  Jack Firmani and William Hayes each chipped in 5 points.  Defensively, Andrew ‘Barkley’ Ferguson ripped down 8 boards continuing on his way to a HYBA season record.  Ben Furey contributed with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.  Quinn McErlean pulled in 3 steals.  The team played a strong 2nd half and should be proud.  They will get back to work and look forward to getting back to their winning ways after the holiday break with a visit from Winchester to the Adams Middle School.

Boys’ 5^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 5th grade boys (White) team defeated Norwood 37-31 at Norwood to improve to 2-4 on the season.  Joseph Lawendi led the team with 11 rebounds followed by Jakai Antoine with 6 rebounds.  Devon Doray led the team in points scoring 15, with offense contributions coming from Joseph Lawendi, Dylan Perrett, Jakai Antoine, and Laksh Kahtri.  The team returns to action after the break on January 8th to face the Wildcats of Milton at home.  

Boys’ 5^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 5th grade boys (Red) team finally broke through into the win column with an impressive effort against Brookline 56-34.  The boys had the lead from the beginning and never let up their efforts.  Gavin Bausch led all scorers with 16 points, with Ryan Magoon and Nathan Eppinger each contributing 12 points.  Every player scored and each contributed to tough defense (4 blocked shots) and aggressive rebounding with Dylan Dimmick leading the way with an impressive 14 boards.  Next on the schedule is a home game versus Natick, after the holiday break.

Boys’ 4^th Grade (White)

Sunday morning the Holliston 4th grade boys (White) team traveled to Medfield in search of their first win of the season.    Despite a strong first half effort and the score being 23-19 at the half, the Warriors went on a 30-2 run in the second half to beat the Panther squad with a final score of 53-21.  Declan Aldredge hit for 12 points while Ty Looney came up with 7 strong points inside the paint.   The boys take a break for the holidays and hope to come back strong at home on January 8th vs. Hopkinton.

Boys’ 4^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 4th grade boys (Red) team played two games this weekend and picked up their first Metrowest win of the season. On Saturday they lost 32-31 to Northboro. After being down for most of the game, Holliston rallied in the second half to close the gap, ultimately falling just short. Ryan Baker led Holliston with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Donovan Vail chipped in with 6 points. Max Metivier and Paul Antony both played hard, with Paul scoring his first basket of the season. On Sunday, Holliston beat Milford 15-11. Both teams struggled offensively, but Holliston was able to hold on for their first Metrowest win. Cole Dennison led the way with 6 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks. Anderson Langlois contributed 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. Holliston looks to build on this momentum after winter break when they take on Medfield at the Adams Middle School on January 8th.