By Max Clifford
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Medfield Girls’ Varsity Basketball opened their season loudly on Tuesday night, walking out of the gymnasium at Westwood High School with a 66-36 victory over the Wolverines. Three double-digit scorers helped the Warriors secure the dominant 30-point win.
The squad from Medfield wasted no time building out their lead in the first quarter. With just under two minutes remaining in the frame, Jailen Annigeri and Mary Palladino drained back-to-back three-pointers to stretch the advantage to 22-5.
The Wolverines went on a brief run to close out the quarter, scoring on three straight possessions. Westwood did leave two points on the table, failing to convert on back-to-back and-one opportunities. Medfield held on to a 24-11 lead heading into the second.
Annigeri went right back to work in the second quarter, splashing her second three of the afternoon to put an end to the Westwood run. Tess Baacke got her own three “the hard way,” scoring a basket and converting the free throw. Annigeri and Baacke led the way for Medfield, scoring a game-high 11 points apiece.
Looking to join in on her sister’s fun, Naya Annigeri scored in transition on back-to-back possessions to put Medfield out in front 34-15 with under five minutes to play. An 8-4 run to close out the half sent the Warriors into the halftime break with a 42-19 advantage.
In the third quarter, it was Izzy Kittredge’s turn to take over for Medfield. She hit a pair of free throws before completing a three-point play on the very next possession. The sophomore put up 10 points in her season debut to join Jailen Annigeri and Baacke in the double-digit scorers club.
The Wolverines cut the deficit down to 30 with a minute to play in the third but committed an unnecessary foul on Paige Henebry’s backcourt heave at the buzzer. Henebry converted the free throws to send the Warriors into the fourth with a 56-24 lead.
Westwood got a bit of a spark to close out the game, with Elizabeth Weeman and Angelina Homsy knocking down back-to-back threes. The result, however, was well decided. Medfield secured the season-opening win by a final score of 66-36.
Though his squad came away with a sizeable victory, Medfield head coach Mark Nickerson was not a fan of being outscored in the fourth quarter. “We were sloppy. We turned the ball over a lot,” he said. “We got off to a good start but we certainly took our foot off the gas a bit, and not on purpose.”
The Warriors will get another chance to test their mettle in the Rivardi Tournament at Oliver Ames High School on December 28 and 29.
