LYNNFIELD — Whenever a No. 16 seed squares off against a No. 17, you have to think the game will be a real dogfight. Friday night was exactly that.
The No. 16 Lynnfield girls basketball team defeated No. 17 Watertown 54-46. The Pioneers survived what coach Sue Breen described as “a scary second half.”
Everything was coming up roses for the Pioneers in the first half, who raced out to a 33-11 halftime lead against the Red Raiders. Simply put, the Pioneers couldn’t do anything wrong, playing arguably their best basketball of the season.
But the third quarter was a different story. The Red Raiders came out on fire, running off 10 consecutive points in two minutes to get themselves back in the game.
By the time the quarter ended, Watertown cut the deficit to just five, 37-32, and, after a free throw in the first 10 seconds of the fourth, the Pioneers’ lead was down to four.
But Lynnfield found a way to flip the script and owned the rest of the quarter, leaving Breen somewhat speechless.
“I have no words. The first half was about as good as it gets — absolutely,” she said. “We missed a lot of shots, a lot of layups in the third quarter. We were obviously turning it over, but we were missing a lot of layups and then it starts getting in your head. Credit to the girls for battling. I tell them when you get to 50 points, you’re going to win the game.”
Watertown coach Mike Tempesta saw it differently.
“We have six freshmen on the team and everybody better get us now because we’re coming,” he said. “We were a good shooting team all year from the outside. Like I said, we had a lot of good looks that didn’t fall our way. It fell their way in the first half and we flipped the script, so I’m proud of the fight.”
Lynnfield wasted no time taking charge. With the game tied 4-4, the Pioneers closed out the final six minutes of the opening quarter with a 12-4 run to lead 16-8.
They kept their foot on the gas in the second, closing with a 9-0 run — the final two points after a block and dish by Olivia Braley (14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals) to Hayden Valiton (14 points, 6 rebounds, steal , who went coast to coast to put the Pioneers on top 33-11.
After a disastrous third quarter, the Pioneers regrouped in the fourth, starting with an offensive rebound and putback by Chloe Grieves (14 points, 13 rebounds, block). She picked the Red Raiders’ pocket on the ensuing possession and went coast to coast to bump the Pioneers’ lead to 41-32. A Valiton steal and layup increased the lead to 43-33.
Enter Olivia Bergeron, who to this point had a relatively quiet presence. That all changed in a hurry. She snagged an offensive rebound and dished to Grieves for another layup, then grabbed a rebound on the other end and fed Calleigh Caprio (5 points, 3 rebounds), who drained a long three that made it 48-35 with four minutes to play.
“I’m just proud of all the team. Everyone who played contributed. It’s amazing. We had a home game tonight with a great crowd. Obviously, the first half was amazing, but the second half was so scary and we could have folded, but we didn’t.”
