WOBURN — Wachusett High girls basketball head coach Jim Oxford remembers the first day of tryouts when his roster looked almost entirely different from last winter’s run to the state finals.
Fast forward about four months later, and Oxford’s Mountaineers have punched their ticket back to that very stage.
Oxford said he didn’t envision Tuesday night’s 44-35 win over No. 4 Braintree in the Div. 1 semifinal at Woburn High to be a realistic possibility, but with the help of a talented freshman class and a core of motivated returners, Wachusett will seek revenge against No. 2 Bishop Feehan in a rematch of last season’s state championship.
“Those kids just came around, and our freshmen just keep getting better, and better and better … I feel good. We want to get back, and we want to win it,” Oxford said.
Wachusett (23-1) graduated seven seniors following last season’s heartbreak in the finals. But returners Sophie Gibbons (14 points), Jaelynn Scott (12 points) and freshman Kyla Yukus (10 points) showcased the Mountaineers’ speedy rebuild under the bright lights to stymie a fiesty Braintree (21-3) squad.
“It feels great doing it two years in a row, and now we want to finish the last step and win the championship. It’s an exciting feeling,” Scott said.
The contest was one of many runs. Wachusett set the tone with a pair of quick baskets to establish an early lead, but Braintree quickly responded to take a 10-6 lead following a layup by Eva Downing (11 points) at the 3:30 mark.
But the Mountaineers handed Braintree a run of its own. Ignited by a triple from Scott and two quick baskets by Ella Kielinen, the top seed nursed a 13-10 lead into the second.
And even while Braintree missed its first nine field goals of the second, it cut a nine-point Wachusett lead to just four behind a pair of 3-pointers by Kate Sweeney (10 points) and Izzy Rotondo.
But Wachusett only continued to steadily increase its cushion in the second half as Yukus and Scott found success in the paint, scoring six points and five points in the frame, respectively.
A raucous Braintree student section certainly put a lot of strain on Wachusett. But Oxford said that pressure will only benefit his team.
“Now they’ve learned that they can win big games when the crowd is a little hostile and we’re not on our floor,” said the coach. “They’re learning a lot this year about basketball.”
Francesca Spadorcia drilled a timely triple at the 4:30 mark of the fourth to put Braintree within just two points of the Wachusett lead, but a two-pointer by Yukus and eventual free throws in the final minutes by Gibbons secured the matchup against Bishop Feehan (23-2).
“It’s going to take a big effort from us because they’re so good,” Oxford said. “They now are what we were last year with all those seniors.”