By Avonlea Cummings
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Persistence and adaptability are what the Medfield girls’ basketball team brought to their home court in their round 32 playoff competition. Medfield holding the second seed in their division hosted the 30th-seeded Bedford Pirates at the Medfield courts on Friday, March 3rd. Through resilience, the girls captured how good teamwork pays off in their 65-48 win over the pirates.
With the bleaches packed full of fans, the Warriors fed off the energetic atmosphere, from loud cheers to chants. Medfield dominated the first half of the matchup, not letting the Pirates get the chance to jump ahead of their immense lead. Closing off the first half with a 35-19 score, the Warriors planned on keeping a tight defense to block any of the Pirates' moves for more points.
As the third quarter swung into action, the Pirates came out hungry and full of intensity, Medfield quickly began to deny their chances. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Warriors solidified their upper hand in the competition thanks to some amazing three-pointers by the lead scorer of the night, Annie Stanton, who polished off the game with 18 points and six rebounds.
Although it was a team effort, Stanton couldn’t shut down the pirates alone, Jailen Annigeri pocketed 13 points, and Sadie Cumming collected 12 points and seven steals. The action didn’t stop there for the Warriors as Izzy Kittredge sunk in 12 points as well with six rebounds and four blocks. Tess Baacke earned herself eight points, six rebounds, and four steals as well, all to finalize the Warriors’ winning title with a 65-48 score.
It was a great all-around team effort for the Warriors to pull through on a win after losing senior captain, Kate Olenik, off the court due to an injury. Each one of these girls symbolized what it meant to be strong together and to fight as true Warriors. After each game, head coach Mark Nickerson gives out a “toughness” ball to a player who stepped up and left everything they had left on the court.
Jailen Annigeri beamed after defeating the Pirates, holding the “toughness” ball in both hands. She praised the team effort given by each player on the court that night, along with the energy on the court during the competition.
“It was really exciting to be on the court today, the energy was amazing. Moving forward, we just have to stay confident, and we got it,” said Annigeri
Head coach Nickerson is preparing for the Warriors' next competition as they tip off on Tuesday against Billerica Memorial High for the Sweet 16 round of the playoffs.
“We have to play better defensively, we are going to have a tough test against Billerica, they are a good team. We played them last year in the St. Mary’s tournament and had a tight game, so we are familiar with them, but we know our hands will be full,” said Nickerson.
