By: Derek Cordon – Chief Cut and Paste Officer

Welcome to our second year of weekly recaps in the Holliston Reporter (thank you Holliston Reporter).  This year we are happy to report that the Holliston Youth Basketball Association has 17 teams representing the town in the Metrowest Basketball League – this is 4 more teams than last year.  Be sure to check out the weekly recaps every Friday throughout the season.

All 17 teams took to the hardwood for the regular season opener.  Week one had 8 wins and 9 losses.  Some were blow out wins, some were tough losses, and one was an overtime loss.  We also saw multiple 20+ point scorers on opening day.  We all know that we have a lot more basketball to play and that the season is still very young.

Girls’ 4^th Grade

The Holliston 4th grade girls team made history as they took to the Adams Middle School parquet floor for the first time as a travel team.  Holliston fell to Medfield 17-10, but the game did not lack theatrics.  Holliston went on a 6 – 0 run with 5 minutes left on the clock to bring the score within 4 points, 14-10.  The run was sparked by Molly Star’s defensive prowess and Ruby Smith crashing the boards.  Scoring contributions came from Emma Sochanek, Brianna Cooper, Gwen Rosen and Ellie Brown.  The Holliston 4^th grade girls have an early season bye this week and return to the court in two weeks against Wellesley at the Adams Middle School.   

Girls’ 5^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 5th grade girls (Red) opened their season against the Timberwolves of Walpole.  Holliston came out ready to play and jumped out to a quick 13-0 half time lead enroute to a 21-4 victory.  Holliston’s defense was excellent with the team combining for 20 steals on the day.   The team was lead in scoring by Ella Bennett who dropped 10 points to go along with 5 rebounds.  Addy McAdams added 6 points and 2 rebounds while Avery Palma had 4 points to go along with a team leading 7 steals.   Mia Malvey chipped in with 2 points, 6 steals and played lock down defense on the opponent’s strongest players.  The team goes on the road and looks to avenge their only loss in the pre-season to 1-0 Hopkinton next week.

Girls’ 5^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 5th grade girls (White) team began their season with a home game at the Adams Middle School.  Gritty defense allowed the team to shut-out their opponent, Hopkinton, during the 1^st quarter and went on to a one-point 24-23 win.  Stella Alexis’s lock down defense held her player to the top of the key throughout the fourth quarter. Kennedy Black rounded out the defense by blocking multiple shots.  Danika Do Rosario lead the offense at point guard and had multiple steals that contributed to her double-digit scoring.  Next up for Holliston is a trip to Bedford on Sunday.

Girls’ 6^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 6th grade girls (Red) team opened the season at home against a strong North Attleboro team.  After an evenly matched first half, Holliston outscored North Attleboro 15-7 in the second half for a 23-14 win.  Lila Cohen led the team in scoring with 6 points and Maddie Sullivan, Olivia Kerchner and Sedona Cicciarella each scored 4.  The big story was the tenacious team defense by the entire squad from top to bottom.  They doubled down in the second half completely shifting momentum in their favor.  Next week the girls host Millis at the Adams Middle School.

Girls’ 6^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 6th grade girls (White) team lost a close, hard fought road game to Arlington 27-21.  Shamili Potturi led the scoring with 7 points and was constantly pushing the pace up and down the court.  Olivia Yang facilitated the offense with several assists at critical points in the game, while also chipping in 6 points.  Sage Passier led the defensive effort for the team putting constant pressure on the Arlington guards.  Next up for Holliston is a trip across the border to Ashland.

Girls’ 7^th Grade

The Holliston 7th grade girls team had their season opening game in Arlington. They hit the hardwood with 2 new players for the season – a return to the team by Drew Andreola and first-time player Ella Lombardo. Lucy Mancuso was the team’s leading scorer netting 12 points with an equally impressive 14 rebounds. Point guard, Mia Faletra, added 4 points to the scoreboard. Skylar MacDonald was scrappy leading the team with 6 steals and Gianna “Switch” Sgarano fought on the floor to win the ball. Unfortunately, the girls fell short, and Arlington took the game 34 – 17. The team gets back at it this Sunday at 3pm with a road game against Wellesley.

Girls’ 8^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 8th grade girls (Red) opened on the road at Dover-Sherborn.  The road trip didn’t slow the Panthers down as they opened the game on a 15-0 run.  The team went on to cruise to a 44-10 win.  Eight of the nine Panthers scored in the game, and all contributed to the win.  Holliston was led by Katie Joslin’s 10 points which were all scored in the first half of the game.  Grace Gorham added 9 points while assisting on numerous passes to her teammates.  Hadley McAdams chipped in 6 points while also causing multiple turnovers for Dover-Sherborn’s guards.  Campbell Harris dominated the paint with 6 points and 10 rebounds while playing lock down defense on the Raiders front court.  Kate McGovern scored 4 points on a couple of key baskets in the game.  The team looks to continue their strong start with a road game against the Medford Mustangs next week.

Girls’ 8^th Grade (White)

This year’s 8th grade girls (White) squad is made up of five 8^th graders and three 7^th graders.  The team opened their season with a trip to Weston and dropped a heartbreaker 29-24 in overtime.  The squad started slow from the tip off, but tenacious team defense forced Weston turnovers and allowed Holliston to get back in the game.  The scoring was evenly spread out with Ari Carbino netting 6 points, Ella Coughlin, Eliza Gebski, Kadence Lynch and Sasha Wang all dropped in 4 points each and Elena Hoffey got her first bucket of the regular season.  Next up is a visit from Wayland for the home opener at the Adams Middle School on Sunday.     

Boys’ 4^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 4th grade boys (Red) team lost a heartbreaker in Ashland on Sunday 27-26. After being down for most of the second half, Holliston stayed focused and rallied to take a 1 point lead in the final minute. In the final seconds, Ashland hit a baseline jumper to win the game. Despite the outcome, the team should be proud of how hard they fought. Ryan Baker led Holliston with 22 points. Cole Dennison made his presence known in the paint with 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Anderson Langlois chipped in with 6 rebounds. Donovan Vail, Joe Sgarano and Ryan Baker combined for 7 steals.  The team looks to bounce back on Sunday in Hopkinton at 3:40.

Boys’ 4^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 4th grade boys (White) team kicked off the season by hosting a solid Hopkinton squad at the Adams Middle School on Sunday afternoon.  Hopkinton started out of the gate quickly by scoring 24 points in the first half and despite a solid defensive effort of holding them to only 6 points in the second half, the Panthers came up short 30-2.  Declan Aldredge scored the only bucket for the Panthers while Teddy Miller and Owen Jacquet played solid defense against the Hillers.  Ty Looney and David Blackerby each grabbed a bunch of rebounds and despite the score, great efforts and hustle off the bench by Jacob Snow, Bauer Black, Aryan Simhadri and Tommy O (Ogoreuc).  Next Sunday Holliston will host the Ashland Clockers in hopes of picking up their first win of the season at the Adams Middle School

Boys’ 5^th Grade (Red)

Holliston 5th grade boys (Red) team dropped its season opener to Bedford, 48-21.  Despite the score, the boys did great in a very physical game considering they were missing several key players and suffered a few in game injuries.  Nathan Eppinger led all scorers with 10 points, Ryan Magoon added 6 points, with Gavin Bausch, Nick Gorham and John Gebski rounding out the scoring. The boys fought through a very physical game, with many bumps and bruises along the way. As a result, several of the first-year players had the opportunity to step up and quickly contribute, including Dylan Dimmick, Lincoln Daniels, Simon Collins and Micah Baltisoto, all of whom showed great hustle through defense and rebounding. Despite the loss, the game provided a solid starting point for the season and the team will look to build upon that next week with a visit to Hopkinton.

Boys’ 5^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 5th grade boys team lost a hard-fought game today 33-22 to Hopkinton.  The Panthers saw key offensive contributions from Joesph Lawendi, Devon Doray, Brody Stanley, Austin McQuire, and Noah Keller.  The Panthers look to rebound next Sunday at the Adams Middle School as they face off against the other team from Hopkinton.

Boys’ 6^th Grade (Red)

The Holliston 6th grade boys (Red) got off to a strong start to the season on Sunday, beating a formidable Everett team 40-31.  The team had a fast start and went up big in the first half.  Everett showed some strong defensive prowess in the 2nd half and made it interesting.  But in the end, Everett couldn’t get past the offensive attack of William Hayes (16 points).  Quinn McErlean chipped in 8 points of his own.  Ben Furey (6), Nathan Chiantera (4), Chris Baker (2), Marcus Burian (2) and Jack Firmani all contributed offensively as well.  In crunch time, it came down to defense and Andrew Ferguson, Ben Furey and Eli Boggess were all a force on the boards pulling down 8 rebounds each.  Quinn McErlean grabbed 7 of his own as the team marched to their first W of the season.  Next week, the boys travel to Blackstone-Millville and hope to continue their winning ways.

Boys’ 6^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 6th grade boys (White) team traveled to Dover-Sherborn for their first game of the 2022-23 season, losing to the Raiders by a score of 24-13.  The Panthers started slow but mounted a strong comeback, led by great team defense and a timely three pointer by their leading scorer, Achyut Pingli.  Down early, the team battled back in the third quarter by a spirited transition offense led by Cameron Baker, and non-stop rebounding from Nicholas DiPippo.  Next week, the boys continue their road trip and look to get a win in the record books with a visit to Milton on Sunday afternoon.

Boys’ 7^th Grade (Red)

Teamwork, toughness, and resilience were needed in the third quarter for the 7th grade boys (Red) team as a feisty and formidable Arlington team had cut what was once a 14-point lead down to a mere 2.  In a much-needed time out, the boys settled themselves, made the necessary adjustments, and took back control of the game to earn a 46-30 victory to open the season 1-0 at the Adams Middle School.  The squad was led by Nick Flannery, who was tireless on both ends of the court and finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double.  Defensively, guard Jack Whitten was an absolute nightmare for the Arlington guards at the top of the 1-3-1 defense, causing all kinds of problems for the Arlington team.  He led the team with 6 steals and caused many more with his relentless ball-hawking.  Colin Doherty and Jacob Lawendi were also key on the defensive end pacing the zone press, while also taking good care of the ball on the offensive end when Arlington put in a press of their own.  The boys hope to continue their winning streak this Sunday when they host Revere at 11:20AM at the Adams Middle School.

Boys’ 7^th Grade (White)

The Holliston 7th grade boys (White) won 26-12 against the Ashland Clockers.  Max McFadyen led the way with 8 points and Brady Hastings chipped in with 6 points, while Josh Xuanye 2 pointer from the top of the key sealed a solid 2^nd half.   Holliston was down at the half and used stifling defense to hold Ashland to 4 points in the 2^nd half.  Jesse Brodksy had 10 rebounds and 6 steals to go along with his 4 points.  George Kuttab had the smooth stroke from the outside tallying him 4 points as well.  Great team passing and team defense all around were the keys to the Holliston victory.  Next up for Holliston, they welcome Framingham to the Adams Middle School for their home opener.

Boys’ 8^th Grade

The 8th grade boys traveled to Northboro in week 1.  Northboro used an aggressive 3-2 zone to limit the 8th grade boys to just 12 points to end the first half with an 18-12 lead.  Holliston went to their press in the second half which sparked the offense with an assortment of steals and transition baskets.  The game was close throughout the second half.  Holliston went ahead by two points with 20 seconds left, but Northboro had possession and called time out.  They set up a play with their point guard driving to the hoop, but Holliston defended the shot and Jack McDonald came away with the ball.  Jack was then fouled and sealed the game with two free throws for the final score, Holliston 44 and Northboro 40.  Jack led all scorers with 24, Cal Leverone 7, and Ethan Suhajda 6 for Holliston.  Next up is a game vs Natick at the Adams Middle School at 2PM.