LYNN – In a game featuring two of the most brilliant offenses in the state, the Medfield-St. Mary’s girls basketball game was decided on the glass.
Senior captain Izzy Kittredge hauled down a defensive board with two seconds remaining, then sunk two free throws to seal the victory, 57-53, for a pivotal road win against St. Mary’s.
“Rebounding is always my focus,” said Kittredge (10 rebounds, four assists, four steals, two blocks). “It was a team effort. We were focused on playing the best defense of our life.”
The victory keeps Medfield (16-1) undefeated in the state, as its only loss came against an opponent from Virginia. And after hitting bottleneck traffic on their ride to Lynn, the win made the two-hour trek to the game well worth the journey.
Despite dealing with double and triple coverage from Medfield’s zone, St. Mary’s phenom Bella Owumi (12 points, 12 points, four blocks, four steals) paced the Spartans. Medfield sophomore guard Naya Annigeri (23 points off 9-of-18 shooting, including four three-pointers) got the better of her offensively, scoring 18 points in the second half.
“Naya is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” said Kittredge. “And she’s an even better person than she is a basketball player.”
Medfield set the tone right from the start, scoring the first seven points of the game. But a resilient St. Mary’s squad was undaunted, cutting the deficit to one before falling behind, 15-9, at the end of the first.
There were spurts throughout the opening half where Medfield could not score – specifically a three minute-and-54-second stretch in the second quarter – but its defense carried them. Medfield forced St. Mary’s into 12 first-half turnovers and committed only four of their own, which was the core reason for their 27-19 lead at the half.
It was a game of runs in the second half. Medfield ended the third ahead, 40-38, then extended it by scoring 11 of the next 13 points.
But St. Mary’s (18-3) refused to concede, even having a chance to take the lead with nine seconds to play when a corner three by freshman guard Gabi Lorenzi rattled in and out. Senior post player Reese Matela (18 points, nine rebounds) was fouled on the ensuing layup, hitting her first free throw before Kittredge secured the final rebound of the game.
“For us, it was important to learn you’re not going to come back every single team,” said St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall, who got a spark off the bench from eighth-grader Sysy Emmanuel. “It’s much better to learn that now as opposed to three weeks from now during the state tournament. But I’m proud of our team. There were a lot of positives, and we’re playing the best teams to see what we’re made of.”
St. Mary’s is lethal off the dribble, so Medfield coach Mark Nickerson wanted his team to force the Spartans toward the perimeter. They found success with that game plan, but offensively, the Warriors struggled at times countering St. Mary’s zone. But Medfield stuck with their formula of quickly moving the ball, and it capitalized on open looks down the stretch.
“To be able to hold on at the end, in their gym, I’m happy with the composure we showed,” said Nickerson. “I know people are looking at us like there’s not much substance behind us. This win proved we can play with the best teams in the state.”