LOWELL – With a strong defensive effort and some clutch free throw shooting from an unlikely source, the No. 2 Springfield International girls defeated top-seeded Millis 42-34 at Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell Sunday afternoon to win the first Div. 5 state title in program history.
“That’s our goal,” said Bulldogs coach Tyrone Reid. “We don’t care about how many we score. There was a point in time we didn’t know if (the score) was going to get into the twenties. That’s our style of game. As long as we have more points than you, then we are going to play defense end to end. We are going to make you earn every basket you get and that’s what we did.”
With a 36-26 advantage midway through the fourth, SI (21-4) was unable to hold off Millis (16-9) as the Mohawks went on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 36-34 over a two and a half minute span. Millis had a chance to tie it, but junior captain Alicia Mitchell swatted away that chance.
“I was a little nervous, but I just had to block out the score and play good defense and rely on my team to do the right thing,” Mitchell said. “Which they did and I knew that we would.”
Mitchell finished with five blocks on the day to go along with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
After that, freshman Iyanna Hodge stepped up for the Bulldogs as she hit her final six free throws to seal the victory for Springfield International.
“(Hodge) is a competitor,” said Reid. “She hasn’t stopped playing basketball since that final whistle blew last year (a 58-56 loss to Hopedale in the Div. 5 state semifinals). She has been preparing for this moment. We just got to put the ball in her hands and we know she is going to get the job done.”
Hodge knocked down three triples in the contest with 12 of her game-high 15 points coming in the second half.
For Millis, senior captain Mia Molinari netted 14 points before fouling out with 1:29 left.
With seven players who are freshmen or younger, Springfield International will be a tough out come tournament team for the next several seasons.
“It’s super-exciting,” Reid said. “We are trying to build a program that is a powerhouse. It starts with that first one, so to get it now with returning everybody aside from one senior is exciting.”