The Medfield girls basketball team recently ran its perfect record to 5-0 by taking home the championship in the annual Sue Rivard Holiday Tournament hosted by Oliver Ames last week. The Warriors showed why they hold the number two ranked position in the statewide Boston Globe poll with convincing wins over number 12 Bishop Fenwick and neighboring fourth-ranked Walpole.
Medfield clicked early against Bishop Fenwick in the semifinal game, running up a 29-16 lead going into the half. Senior captain Kate Olenik proved unstoppable for the Fenwick defense, finishing with a game-high 28 points. Juniors Annie Stanton (12 points) and Molly Chin (9 points) rounded out the scoring, with huge contributions also coming from the two freshman starters, Tess Baacke and Izzy Kittredge. The young core for the Warriors came out running in the second half, putting it out of reach in the third before closing out the 70-44 win.
The championship game lived up to the hype, with a sizable crowd on hand to watch the second and fourth-ranked teams in the state go head-to-head.
Walpole did its best to slow Olenik, double-teaming her throughout with their best athletes, including senior UConn soccer commit Brooke Walonis. Despite Walpole’s efforts, Olenik still finished with 17 points, taking home tournament MVP honors.
Walpole refused to go down easily, cutting the lead to single digits in the final minutes. Stanton finished a three-point play off a beautiful dish from junior Sadie Cumming that stopped the momentum for the Timberwolves. The young Kittredge shined in the spotlight, adding 15 points; she was a force on both ends, earning her all-tourney team honors.
Coach Mark Nickerson’s team faces a string of Tri-Valley league opponents in January as it builds towards a state tournament run in March.
