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By Robert Rosen
Hometown Weekly Staff
It was a ride that 15 players and their coaches will never forget.
They won their first 11 games and had their time of their lives, referring to themselves as a “band of sisters” and priding themselves on their teamwork, notably their “we-fense.”
But on Monday night they tried to do what no one else in Massachusetts high school girls’ basketball has been able to do the past three years: beat Braintree.
In a matchup of Bay State Conference teams at Massasoit Community College in Brockton in the Division 1 South Semifinals, the Raiders struggled early against the Wamps’ defense and couldn’t overcome an early deficit, losing 47-35. With the loss Wellesley finishes the season at 20-3.
Wellesley struggled early on in the game and could never find their rhythm in the first half. After scoring just 2 points in the first quarter, the Wamps were able to hold the Raiders to just 9 points in the first half.
Junior forward Dorian Cohen, one of Wellesley’s captains and top players, scored 6 of those points, but she went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury and missed the rest of the game.
The Raiders were not out of the game yet, though, as they banded together to make a run at the Wamps, who have won the last two state titles. Scoring 17 points in the third quarter alone, Wellesley was able to pull as close as 6 at one point in the fourth quarter, but Braintree was just too much and was able to hold off the Raiders.
The game against Braintree was the third state tournament game for Wellesley.
The Raiders opened up Division 1 South State Tournament play with a win against Bridgewater-Raynham, 52-28. They followed that up with a win against Attleboro in the next round, 43-32. Coach Glen Magpiong was pleased with what he saw from his team, as they continued to show the kind of teamwork he has instilled in them.
“If you look at our scorebook, it seems there is a different leading scorer every night and if you look at the points we give up in a game, it might lead one to believe that everyone is working together on the defensive end,” Magpiong said.
Magpiong felt the key to the Attleboro game was “our resiliency to withstand their runs and our offensive lull and the players not being afraid of the bright lights. It just looked and felt like they had been there before. In the second half we were more active than reactive and I think it was a huge difference in the outcome of the game.”
One thing that the Raiders can certainly be proud of about their season is that they continues to improve as t he season progressed. Despite the loss, they were playing their best basketball of the year when they faced Braintree.
A few days before the Braintree game, Magpiong said, “I absolutely do think we are playing our best basketball right now and I really think the reason is because we are just allowing them to play. I think by taking my hands off of the wheel a bit and trying to bring more positive energy, the team has really responded… I really don’t want it to end anytime soon.”
Wellesley will lose four seniors to graduation this year: Emma Ivey, Emily Cronin, Caroline Sullivan and Katie Williamson.
While the Raiders’ season has come to an end, they can certainly be proud for the way they represented Wellesley High and the Town of Wellesley this season.
Robert Rosen is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @roberterosen.
