This week marks the end of the Metrowest regular season.  A special thanks goes out to all the coaches, assistant coaches, score keepers and score clock operators.  The season wouldn’t happen with all your support.  The Panthers took home a remarkable four division championships amongst our 19 teams in the Metrowest League.  Leading us off were the 6^th grade girls (red) team who finished with an impressive 8-2 record. The 6^th grade boys (red team) took home the championship banner finishing at 9-3.  The 7^th grade boys (white) team will be flashing their hardware after completing the season with an amazing 10-2 record.  Last, but not least the 8^th grade boys (red) team polished off their Metrowest careers on a high note, finishing atop of their division also at 10-2.  Time to hoist the banners at Robert Adams Middle School.  Congratulations to the players from all the Holliston teams on a fantastic season.  The teams now go into the hunt for a post season tournament championship.

Let’s go Panthers!

4^th Grade Girls (Red) 

The Holliston 4th Grade Girls (Team King) had their best game of the season with a solid victory over Hopkinton.  The team passed well, played great help defense and cleaned up on the boards.  Stand-out players this week included Josie Brower who was tenacious on the defensive end grabbing boards and making steals.  Josie also contributed 8 points.  Millie Guellnitz also played a strong defensive game and netted 8 points.  Lennon King added 10 points and hit the floor for a number of loose balls.  Brooke McGrath did a great job distributing the ball and played outstanding on ball and help defense.  Maggie Mulik scored a great clean up bucket and continued to create a bunch of jump balls. Overall, it was an outstanding team win!  Best of luck to all teams in the playoffs!

4^th Grade Girls (White)

The Holliston 4th Grade Girl’s experienced two disappointing losses this weekend as they lost to Walpole on Saturday and Hopkinton on Sunday.  Both games were close, especially Sunday’s game which went into overtime and Holliston’s girls only lost by one basket. The girls gave it their all in both games.  

For Saturday’s game vs Walpole we were missing almost half our team, but Amelia Parker, Richa Yedugani, Olivia Wing, Katelyn Klein and Vera Finn played the entire game and did an amazing job.   Everyone played strong and pushed through to the end, despite being exhausted. 

Sunday’s game vs. Hopkinton was an upsetting loss as the girls played a great game and were so close to walking away with a win. Vera Finn played strong defense and was able to grab some great rebounds.  Richa Yedugani did an excellent job moving all over the floor, diving for rebounds, getting steals and demonstrating some great ball handling. A big thank you to the entire team for being such a great group of girls. It was a pleasure coaching each and every player this season. Now on to the playoffs!

5^th Grade Girls (Red)

Jim McKay said it best the agony of defeat which was felt last weekend as Holliston lost both games, their hard work proved unmet against much larger city teams.

Holliston 21, Arlington 34. The Saturday afternoon matinee game started with a monstrous 3 pointer from Charley Marcuard, the crowd erupted as this was a surprise BIG HIT! Arlington retaliated with a quick 5-point tear, proving a quick end to the first quarter. The second quarter was all about steals and boy did we have our share, a total of 8 alone in that quarter. Hanlon and Brown both used their quick skills and feet to take down several Arlington drives, both teams were even on the boards. Moving into the second half the team fell under the pressure of the high-powered guards and center of Arlington. Rosen was on their feet for the whole game with a double-dozen, 12 points and 12 rebounds for the game. In the end the result gave Arlington the W, the kids hit the road to Milton in less than 14 hours.

Holliston 7, Milton 28. The chilly Sunday morning started with being locked out of Milton High School; the team woke up quickly as temps were in the single digits waiting for the Oz to open the door.  The team entered with less than 10 mins to rally and warm up (literally) for the game to start. Milton routinely powers past their opponents by 30+ points and boy did they have their work cut out for them today. Holliston held steady going into the second quarter until Milton had a bit of a hot streak, the cellophane on Holliston’s bucket was felt by all. Ruby Smith blew past several Milton players to get over 10 rebounds and didn’t take any prisoners with several game turnovers. Lauren deVlaan made her mark in the first half by playing over 12 minutes with no sub, allowing for few shots taken on her. Second half let Aarya Sharma tear through players and gain several rebounds. Rosen scored 5 and Brown 2 – Milton was too tired to get to their normal 30+ point wins as Holliston’s defense proved too much.  

5^th Grade Girls (White)

Holliston 5^th Grade Girls White team traveled to MA Premier to close out the season with a 32-28 Win over Mansfield.  Emma Sochanek scored with confidence, tallying 8 points to go along 4 steals and 3 blocks to help the Panthers cruise to victory.  Ailla Howden, Ryckie Reichheld, and Brooke Sawicki played above the rim, combining for 14 rebounds, while Cora Mcgillicuddy and Mary Toohey made it a cruel summer for Mansfield, registering a combined 8 steals.  The guard play for the Panthers kept Mansfield off balance with Emma “e-dogg” Whitehead leading the game with 5 assists and Brianna Cooper registering 17 points.  Despite the Panthers sluggish start to the season, the team turned it on in the second half winning 4 of their last 6 games and are peaking at the right time as they head into the playoffs next week.    

6^th Grade Girls (Red)

The 6^th grade girls (red) travelled to West Roxbury to take on Parkway.  The Panthers started slowly falling down 7-1 after the 1^st quarter.  Holliston continued to try to claw their way back into the game but ultimately fell 26-23.  The girls battled in the fourth quarter and almost sent it to OT.  Holliston finished the regular season with an impressive 8-2 record.  Special thanks to the assistant coaches, Jacque Miranda and Katie Malvey.  Without their expertise and assistance, the girls record would probably have been flipped.  Each player brought their own special energy to the team to make us all play and coach better.  Danika Do Rosario had the golden touch with her amazing ability to put the ball in the basket, Mia Malvey was the energizer bunny who never stopped hustling, Louisa Bigelow was a rebounding machine, Audrey Mancuso was automatic from the elbow, Avery Palma was the swiss army knife of the squad being able to do everything well, Addy McAdams seemed to have 5 eyes at times as her court awareness was truly incredible, Gwen Miranda’s inside offensive game was amazing, Jackie Schiavoni was protector of the paint and stopped so many taller opponents from scoring, Ella Bennett was our version of Steph Curry expanding her shooting ability beyond the arc, Aahana Kulkarni was the Dennis Rodman of Metrowest fearlessly shutting down her opponents.  The girls continued to improve throughout the season and are primed to make a run in the playoffs vs Westwood.  

6^th Grade Girls (White) 

Game 12 (2/25) – (L: 14-27) 

Holliston travelled to Millis to compete in an exciting last game of the season. Millis and Holliston matched bucket for bucket in the first 12 minutes of the game. With solid defense and few fouls, the entry into the play was strong for Holliston. Selah Tetrault, Lindsay Haynes, and Kennedy Black were solid in the key, blocking shots and grabbing boards, while Lindsey Walsh stuck like glue to her player out at the three. In the second half, Millis pulled away, outpacing Holliston on baskets. Holliston grabbed so many boards, however, that the number of fast breaks and throws down court to an awaiting teammate were stronger than ever! Rebounds were led by Kennedy Black (8) who also scored (2), followed by Domenica Bellamy (3) who contributed the game high points (6), and Chloe Roche (3). Elle Lessard kept up her usual pace with steals grabbing 6 (and 2 points) and was closely matched by Domenica Bellamy (5). The team’s point guard, Sophya Teixiera, contributed 4 steals, 2 points, and 3 rebounds. Mila Szabatura took a quick and solid shot at the end of the fourth quarter, bringing Holliston’s total to 14. After the last league game, Holliston players left the court with smiles on their faces and a mindset to take on the playoffs by storm! Please join the team (after a lovely Sunday drive) up in Bedford where Holliston takes on Winchester at 3:20 on 3/3. Go team!

7^th Grade Girls (Red)

The seventh-grade girls, team red, hosted Millis in their regular season finale.  As expected, the physical play matched the intensity of last year.  Both teams exhibited very aggressive defense with 8 collective points scored in the first quarter.  The teams continued to exchange blows for 32 minutes with Holliston coming up on the short end of a 25-17 final score.  Riya Yedugani flexed her muscles on both ends of the court, with 5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 4 steals.  Chelsea Dufault had 8 rebounds and 3 points.  Olivia Kerchner repeatedly drove hard to the hoop, putting her to the line multiple times and contributing to her 5 points, and Emerson Harrington was again a menace to the opposing point guard, contributing with 4 points.  The girls are well prepared for the playoffs and their round one matchup against Natick on Friday.

7^th Grade Girls (White)

Tough loss on the front end of a doubleheader.  Lila Cohen led the Holliston team in scoring with 8 points from the point guard position.  Lucy Downin paced the defense and contributed a huge five points, all in the fourth quarter. Finally, Emma Starr was the defensive anchor on the back line keeping the girls in the game against a much taller Cambridge team.

Holliston girls kept it close in the first half before Northboro pulled away in the second.  Riley Whitehead and Kaylin Hayes led the defensive effort.  Olivia Yang was critical to breaking a tough Northboro press in the second half.  Finally, Diya Simhadri brought down several key rebounds.

8^th Grade Girls

The 8th Grade Girls finished up the regular season Sunday morning on the road in Somerville and lost a tough battle, staying close most of the way before it ended, dropping 46-32 in the contest. Mia Faletra led the offense from the point while contributing 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 steals.  Keira Brannigan played a strong game creating turnovers on defense, grabbing 6 rebounds, and was very active offensively through the paint and had 4 points.  Lucy Mancuso played strong defensively as usual with 8 steals and 3 fast break layups. 

Following the game, the whole team and several family members headed into Chestnut Hill to watch the Boston College women play.  They even captured a team photo in the same spot as they did in fourth grade!   The girls are looking to make a strong playoff run this year to complete their youth basketball careers, opening on Saturday at 11:40 over in Hopkinton against Natick. 

4^th Grade Boys (Red)

The Holliston 4th grade boys (red) team took to the road for a pair of February vacation battles. First the boys traveled to Lexington on 2/18 for an early afternoon tilt. Unfortunately, Lexington came our firing and scored 26 of their 38 points in the first half. The boys had a hard time getting anything to fall and fell behind early. The story of the game was Yamori Richardson’s scoring outburst scoring 5 of his 6 points in the 4th quarter. The scoring was rounded out by Konnor d’Anjou (4), Emerson Vail (2), and Harrison Cirrilo (2). Ultimately, the quick start by Lexington was too much to overcome and the boys lost 38-16.  

Next, the boys traveled to Brookline on 2/25 for a late morning battle. The boys started out playing a great first period falling behind by only 2 points. Even though the boys battled hard they just were not able to get any shots to fall and ultimately fell 42-19. Scoring leaders were Harrison Cirillo (10), George Taylor (4) Ronan Ojha, Sam Wagner (2) and Max Cohen (1). With the regular season now over, the teams focus is on a deep playoff run. The boys first playoff game will be on Sunday, March 3 rd at 1pm against a to be determined opponent.

4^th Grade Boys (White) 
The Holliston 4th grade boys bounced back in a big way this week with a huge win at Belmont 38–34.  It was the highest point total of the season and also saw the most assists of the season as the boys were very unselfish and found the open man throughout the game.

Tyler Crean had a monster game with 16 pts, 4 boards, 2 assists, and 6 blocks.  Andrew Levasseur had the hot hand early with 8 points and also had 5 boards.  Grady Gum had 4pts, 5 boards, and 2 assists.  Darien Harris had 4pts, 2 steals and 3 assists.  Jesiah Varghese had 4 pts and 4 boards.  Jake Looney had 2pts, 6 boards, 2 steals, and 2 assists.  Jack Donahue played great health defense throughout the game, and also had a rebound, block, and assist.  Ayen Hemaratne had a rebound, assist, and steal.  Lucas Chang and Cade Burke both played great defense and forced 2 late game jump balls that were key. 

Holliston will face the winner of Northboro and Dedham Sunday morning in the playoffs. 

5^th Grade Boys (Red) 

 The Holliston 5^th grade boys (Red) had two tough games this Sunday.  In the morning game, the team faced Concord-Carlisle at home and lost 17-31.  The team has been challenged to click on offense despite some really great defensive play.  The team was in it early and were up 8-2 in the second quarter but found themselves down 10-8 at half.  They could not recover after scoring only 2 points in the third quarter.  Declan Aldredge had a great game and scored 10 pts.  Connor Lydon had a big rebound and put pack in the second quarter.  Teddy Miller (2), Ty Looney (2), and Anderson Langlois (1) rounded out the scoring.   George Floeckher had a great defensive game with 4 steals and a number of blocks. 

In the afternoon game, Holliston headed to Westwood and battled hard but ultimately fell 36-19.  The offensive woes continued with 0 first quarter points but the boys stayed in it, getting within 2 points at halftime.  There was definitely a discrepancy in how the game was called as Westwood took 18 more free throws than Holliston which really slowed any comeback momentum.    Ty Looney had an excellent game with 6 points and 10 rebounds.  Jacob Snow nailed a nice jumper in the second quarter.   Timmy Klaus played some excellent defense and also scored 4 points.  Declan Aldredge, Teddy Miller and George Floeckher all added buckets as well.  It was a true team effort on defense with some steals contributed by Will Finneran, Paul Antony, and Tommy Ogoreuc.  The team will shake off the losses as they face off against Framingham this Sunday morning in the first round of the playoffs.

5^th Grade Boys (White) 

The Holliston 5th Grade Boys team (White) closed out the regular season with a 45-33 win over Westboro on Sunday night. Holliston led throughout and pulled away with a strong second half to seal the win. It was a great team win, with 10 players either scoring a basket, grabbing a rebound or getting a steal. Owen Jacquet led the way with a 10 point, 11 rebound double-double. Ryan Baker scored 13 points and Logan McDonough had 8. Cole Dennison had 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 points. Donovan Vail and Joe Sgarano each had 4 points, while David Blackerby added a basket and 4 rebounds. Holliston finished the regular season with an 8-4 record and will face North Quincy in the playoffs on Friday night. 

6^th Grade Boys (Red) 

The Holliston 6th Grade (Red) Boys lost their last game of the regular season to Medfield in OT 43-40.  The boys fell into foul trouble early, with three players eventually fouling out . . . but the rest of the team dug down and forced overtime.  Ryan Magoon was the top scorer with 11 points and was again fantastic on defense.  Joseph Lawendi had 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks and 4 points.  Gavin Bausch, Brody Stanley and Devon Doray each chipped in 5 points.  Nathan Eppinger scored 2 points, while Dylan Dimmick and Dylan Perrett provided incredible defense despite their opponent being about two-heads taller than anybody else on the court.  The team takes on Lincoln Sudbury in the playoffs this Friday night at 8:30 (in Sudbury).  Good luck to all the teams heading into the playoffs!

6^th Grade Boys (White)

The Holliston 6th Grade Boys Panther’s dropped their two final games of the regular season to finish with a 5-7 record in the division and 6-9 on the year.  

The Panthers lost 18-21 to Westwood and was led in points by Leo Defazio, Laksh Khatri, and Nolan Burke with 4 points a piece.  Adding in scoring were Logan Kanavich (2), Noah Keller (2), and Kirill Stotski (2).  Kirill Stotski and Laksh Khatri led the team in rebounds with 6 a piece followed by Lincoln Daniels (5), Noah Keller (5), Leo DeFazio (4), Logan Kanavich (4), Micah Baltisoto (3), Leo Wagner (2), and Nolan Burke (1).  The teams “Silver Swoosh” award was given to Kirill Stotski for his efforts rebounding and scoring in the paint. 

The Panthers then fell 16-34 to top seeded Ashland.  Leading the team in scoring was Logan Kanavich (8), followed by Leo Wagner (2), Noah Keller (2), Laksh Khatri (2), and Micah Baltisoto (2).  Leading the team in rebounds was Laksh Khatri (3), Noah Keller (3), Kirill Stotski (3), Lincoln Daniels (3), and Logan Kanavich (3), followed by Leo Defazio (2), Leo Wagner (1), Nolan Burke (1), and Micah Baltisoto (1).  The teams “Silver Swoosh” award was given to Logan Kanavich for his offensive playmaking.  The team eagerly awaits its playoff schedule and has high hopes for a deep playoff run.  

7th Grade Boys (Red)

The Holliston 7th Grade Boys (Red) team ran into a buzzsaw in Medway this week, falling 62-42.  Medway hit an astounding 10 shots from beyond the arc, neutralizing our typically effective zone defense.  After switching to a man to man defense in the 2nd half, the three pointers stopped and we ‘won’ the second half, so there was some good to come out of the game.  Despite the sharp shooting, the boys played really well.  We finished the regular season 6-6, a sign that we were in the right division competitively and the boys showed progress all year.  We are certainly a better team now than we were in November and the boys have been a joy to coach.  In this game, Ben Furey led the offense with 16 points.  Quinn McErlean (8), Orson Daniels (6), Eli Boggess (4), Charlie Bower (3), Will Hayes (3) and Jack Firmani (2) also took part in the scoring attack.  Charlie was a beast on the boards pulling down 10 rebounds, followed by Orson (6) and Andrew Ferguson (6).  Sam Israel, Chris Baker and Marcus Burian all played solid defense and were effective moving the offense from the guard position.  We look forward to facing Bellingham on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs.  

7th Grade Boys (White)

The 7th Grade boys basketball team (white) closed out their remarkable regular season this past Sunday at Westboro, and did not disappoint.  After a slow start, trailing 9-6 at the half, the Panthers turned on a full court press and outscored their opponent 24-5 in the second and third quarters!  Playing with the intensity, focus, and heart that defined their season, the boys fought for every loose ball, played 60 minutes of tough, physical defense, leading to a 40-24 victory.  I mean it when I say that the boys should be proud of how they played this season, representing their town well, on their way to a 10-2 regular season.  In a telling stat-line, 10 different players scored on Sunday, with every player contributing with at least one rebound and good defense.  Cam Baker scored 8 points on the day, Charlie Peterson and Aaron Javier bothled the team with 5 rebounds apiece.  Next Saturday the boys face Northboro in the first round of the Metrowest playoffs

8th Grade Boys (Red)

The 8th Grade Boys Travel Red team closed its season out in style with a commanding 49-32 road win over Medfield.  Anthony Faletra led the way with 14 points and five rebounds, while Nick Flannery celebrated his birthday by going 6-8 from the floor to finish with 12.  Connor McDonough was a force on both ends of the floor, chipping in four steals and three assists to go along with his seven points, and Max Colletti found his stroke in the second half, canning two key three pointers as Medfield was trying to go on a run to close the gap.  “March Madness” now begins for the squad as they head into single elimination playoffs with an opening round game held on Wednesday night at 7:45pm against Needham at the Dana Barros Center. This group is determined to make a strong playoff run this year to cap off their HYB years. 

8th Grade Boys (White)

On Sunday afternoon, the Holliston Grade 8 white team travelled to Dover-Sherborn. The game was tied 20-20 at the half. D-S jumped out to a 38-25 lead entering the 4th quarter. However, Holliston made a strong comeback in the fourth quarter holding D-S to two points in the final quarter before falling 40-31. Colin Doherty led with 13 points while Will Dietrich chipped in 7 points. Bradyn Cotting made a nice three-point shot and finished with 4 points. Alex Cataldo had another big game on the boards finishing with 9 rebounds. Aden Khoury had a strong defensive game in his first start of the season. The playoffs are next as Holliston (#5 seed) will play Southboro (#4 seed) on Friday night at Ashland High School.