From Derek Cordon & Michelle Friedman
Free throw, lay-up or a three – this is where the recaps will be
Did you know that we have volunteers who are head coaches for 2 different teams? Coach Scott McAdams is at the helm of the 4th grade girls and the 7th grade girls (Red) teams. He is assisted by Katie Malvey and Jacquie Miranda for 4th grade and Denis Dietz for 7th grade. Coach Meredith Faletra is passing on all her basketball knowledge to the entire 6th grade class. She is assisted by Nichole Dickinson for the girls and Scott McDonough, Bill Sweet and Cory McGann for the boys. Thank you for all that you do for the Holliston basketball program, Scott, Meredith, and assistants.
As for the action on the hardwood this week, we still have an undefeated team with an amazing finish to their game and we had another team pick up their first win. And to round out the weekend, we had 1-2-3: a 1-point win, a 2-point loss, and a 3-point win.
Boys’ 4th Grade
The Holliston 4th grade boys welcomed Medfield to the Adams Middle School. Trailing by 10 points after the first quarter, the Panthers roared back and then held steady with a 1 point lead in the final 2 minutes of the game to close out a gritty 23-22 win. Leo Wagner made his presence known by capturing 7 rebounds while Nathanial Eppinger, Logan Kanavich, Nick Gorham, Gavin Bauch, and Joseph Lawendi contributed to the 23 points for Holliston. Next week, the Panthers hope to continue their win streak as they head out on the road for a match up with Concord Carlisle.
Boys’ 5th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 5th grade boys (Red) team traveled to Brookline for their toughest competition so far this season. Brookline started hot and got out to an early lead. The boys kept their heads up and played great team basketball as they tried to mount a comeback. Down 8 points with 2 minutes to go, they turned on the full court press and quickly were able to get 6 points back. Andrew Ferguson should have made the ESPN highlight reel on an inbound play; with no Holliston teammates open and time running out to get the ball in play, he bounced the ball off a Brookline defender’s legs and out of bounds. This allowed Holliston to maintain possession, call a time out, set up a play and get another bucket to keep the comeback alive. Unfortunately, Holliston ran out of time and came up just short, falling 30-28. William Hayes was unstoppable with 22 points. Charlie Bowser, Tate Garran and Ben Furey also scored in the contest. Next week, Lexington visits the Adams Middle School in what should be another competitive contest.
Boys’ 5th Grade (White)
The Holliston 5th grade boys (White) were meant to travel to Milford (Black) for the 6th game of the season, but unfortunately the game needed to be rescheduled. Holliston will next play at the Adams Middle School against Westwood.
Boys’ 6th Grade
The Holliston 6th grade boys lost a heartbreaker to Seekonk 36-31 at the Adams Middle School. The game was close going into the fourth quarter, but Seekonk just kept making big baskets and getting stops on the defensive end. Nick Flannery led the scoring with 12 points, as well as an incredible chase-down block from behind that electrified the crowd. Joining the block party was Nate Howell who had a monster block on the defensive end to go along with 5 rebounds for the game. Guard Anthony Faletra did a little bit of everything, grabbing 4 boards, 3 assists, and scoring 6 points. Max Colletti provided valuable minutes in the frontcourt for Holliston, grabbing 2 key rebounds. The 6th grade boys will be back up and running against Raynham at 5:00PM on Sunday at the Adams Middle School as the second game of a sixth grade back-to-back Sunday evening lineup (girls at 3:40).
Boys’ 7th Grade
The Holliston 7th grade boys improved to 6-0 in league play and 11-0 overall with a 45-44 win over rival Medway. Both teams played aggressively from the start with neither team able to find their offensive rhythm. The score was 7-6 Holliston at the end of the first quarter. Henry Hayes and Jack McDonald sparked the team offensively in the 2nd quarter. Henry drove to the rim for a score then posted up his defender for another basket to help put Holliston up 23-18 at half. The game had numerous lead changes and was close throughout, but Medway held a 3-point lead with 1:10 remaining in the game. Luke McHugh was fouled on a shot attempt. The Medway player that committed the foul then received a technical on the play. Luke connected on two fouls shots to cut the lead to 44-43. Then Holliston put on a full court press which led to an Ethan Suhajda steal. Ethan drove the ball to the basket and scored over two Medway defenders to put the Panthers back on top 45-44. The Panthers defended a last second shot to remain undefeated for the season. The boys have had five different players lead the team in scoring. This time it was Luke McHugh with 18, Ethan Suhajda had 12, and Jack McDonald added 8 for the Panthers. The boys go on their longest road trip of the season with the next three games away from the Adams Middle School. First stop is a contest with Medford.
Boys’ 8th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 8th grade boys (Red) team rolled onto the campus of the Old Rochester Regional High School Saturday morning amidst frigid temperatures in the teens to take on the undefeated Bulldogs. The game was very tight through the early parts of the contest with the score deadlocked at 12 at half time. Both teams played excellent defense throughout the game. Holliston chose to work primarily with a swarming 2-3 zone defense, forcing the Bulldogs to shoot from the outside or force it down low where they were met by the Panther big men. The second half opened up a bit for Old Rochester, aided by an unfortunate series of Panther turnovers, resulting in a 39-31 Bulldog victory. Copper Firmani led Holliston scoring with 12 points. The loss drops Holliston to 3-2 as they continue a particularly tough stretch in their schedule, facing their third consecutive undefeated team in the 5-0 Westborough Rangers on Sunday.
Boys’ 8th Grade (White)
The Holliston 8th grade boys (White) defeated Westwood 47-35 for their first win of the season. This win was a total team effort with Matty Gimblett leading the way with 19 points and stellar defense. Liam Brannigan poured in 15 points and Bhumin Karunakar had 9 points with 6 of them coming off tough offensive rebounds. Sean Klein continues to be a force on the defensive end. The team will go for their second win next Sunday at the Norwood Savage Center.
Girls’ 4th Grade
The Holliston 4th grade girls team took on the Tanners of Woburn on Sunday. Holliston quickly jumped out to a 16-2 lead and went on to cruise to a 23-12 victory. The team was led by Danika Do Rosario who dropped 12 points. Aahana Kulkarni scored 2 points and led the team with 5 steals while playing lock down defense on Woburn’s point guard. Louisa Bigelow’s intense defense resulted in 4 steals to go along with 2 rebounds. The 5-1 Panthers are at Adams Middle School this week against Arlington.
Girls’ 5th Grade
The Holliston 5th grade girls headed to Brookline having spent the majority of last week’s practice focusing on defense and rebounding. Their hard work paid off as they held Brookline to their season low point total and compiled an impressive 31 rebounds in a 14-5 win. Mackenzie McDonald led the squad with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots; Sedona Cicciarella scored 4 points and had 5 rebounds; and Olivia Kerchner and Chelsea Dufault each had 4 rebounds. The girls face a big challenge next week as they take on an undefeated Canton team on the road.
Girls’ 6th Grade
The Holliston 6th grade girls traveled to Foxboro and came away with a win this weekend 32-19. Holliston maintained a lead throughout the game. The team snagged a season-high 36 steals through their newly learned aggressive trapping defense. The girls also faced full court pressure throughout the game. Cate McCarron nearly turned in a triple double with 10 points, 10 steals, and 8 rebounds. Lauryn “ScrapDog” Mulvaney led all scorers with 11 points through some strong layups and aggressive play around the basket. Lily Ingoldsby provided a spark off the bench with her fearless defense and continuous hard work. The 6th grade girls will tap off against Westwood at 3:40 on Sunday at the Adams Middle School as the first game of a sixth grade back-to-back Sunday evening lineup (boys at 5:00).
Girls’ 7th Grade (Red)
The Holliston 7th grade girls (Red) team traveled to the Dana Barros field house this week to take on the Canton Bulldogs. Canton came out on fire against the Panthers to jump out to an early lead. Holliston battled back to outscore Canton 19-15 over the last three quarters, but ultimately fell by a final score of 31-19. Reese Friedman led the charge with 8 points and 4 rebounds while playing excellent defense against the highly talented Bulldogs. Hanna Holden added 2 points and 4 rebounds while pushing Holliston’s fast break during their comeback. Grace Gorham scored 4 points, added a blocked shot, and grabbed 2 rebounds while having to cover Canton’s much taller front court. The Panthers look to replicate the effort they showed in the last 3 quarters as they travel to Norton this week. This will be a rematch from two weeks ago where Holliston hopes to avenge a 7 point loss.
Girls’ 7th Grade (White)
The Holliston 7th grade girls (White) team had their 3rdroad game in a row. They were the visitors at the Kingsbury Club to take on Medfield. Campbell Harris scored a team high 10 points, all in the first half, which helped propel Holliston to a 25-14 win. Eliza Gebski turned up the dial on the intensity meter playing aggressive defense in both the top and the bottom of the 2-3 zone. She rebounded, caused jump balls, and forced turnovers to go along with her 4 points. The Holliston team will begin a 5 game homestand at the Adams Middle School. First up, they will welcome a squad from Millis.
Girls’ 8th Grade
The Holliston 8th grade girls used tenacious defense to overcome a 4th quarter deficit in defeating Bellingham 26-23. Claire Radcliffe had a strong game on both ends of the court. Fantastic defensive pressure from Parker Friedman, Grace Whitten, and Claire Fitzgerald gave the team the chance to pull out the victory. An offensive put back from Lindsay O’Connell with 50 seconds left gave the girls the lead and Kaitlyn Clark extended it with an ice water in her veins free throw. Julia Galipeau received the coach’s award for outstanding boxing out on both the offensive and defensive ends. The Holliston girls face a tough Milton team on Sunday at the Adams Middle School.