By Owen Ziegler
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
On Tuesday March 4th, The 8th ranked Westwood Wolverines girls basketball team faced off against the 9th ranked Northampton Blue Devils. To get to their round of 16 matchup both teams started with a bye. In the next game Westwood beat out Longmeadow 67-53, and Northampton finished off Reading memorial. The game shaped up to be intense, they seemed almost perfectly matched, but unfortunately Westwood couldn't find their rhythm and ultimately fell to Northampton 53-39.
Things started strong for Westwood, as Senior Captain Mackenzie Kaiser put up the first points. Despite Westwoods overall difficulties Kaiser was a powerhouse, finishing with 11 points in the game. Kaiser's work this season has been phenomenal, helping Westwood in their great season. Another player who was just as important this season was Senior Captain Charlotte Hurley. She commanded the ball expertly and finished this game with 16 points, a testament to her skills this season, she also overcame a difficult injury from last season, adding to her career. Finishing off the captain trio is Senior Caroline Nozzolillo. She along with Kaiser were dominant in the paint, grabbing rebounds and playing tough defense all season long. Unfortunately some big threes by Northampton were too much, ending the quarter 16-9, Westwood behind.
In the 2nd and 3rd quarter, Westwood couldn't produce enough points, opposite to the rest of the season. Too many turnovers, and missed rebounds extended Northampton's lead to 27-12 by the end of the half. In the 3rd quarter Westwood had a short push of offense making the score 32-22, but were stifled by Northampton's press defense. Even though they were behind, not once did anyone falter, especially Senior Angelina Homsy who was able to make an impact that may not show up on the stat-book, but hustle was the most important part of the game.
The 4th quarter was, admittedly, disappointing, but a little hope was inspired from the Wolverines. They were able to even out the score 33-38, Westwood only down by 5 points, after ending the previous quarter 29-38. Northampton went on an immensely powerful scoring streak, pulling ahead to finish the game 39-53.
Some possible standouts in the 2025-26 season will be Juniors, Lizzie Weeman, a sharpshooter, and Olivia Shea, a technical master. With only two current Juniors, fans will definitely see next year's Juniors take an important role on the team, maybe even an untraditional captain spot. Even though the Wolverines couldn't pull off a W, they showed brilliance during the season in every aspect of the game.
