FRANKLIN, Mass. – Kayla Goldrick grabbed a tough offensive rebound and scored in traffic to put Attleboro up 47-40 early in the fourth quarter. It was the largest lead of the game for the Bombardiers and they were fired up on the visiting bench. A win would move Attleboro level with Franklin atop the Kelley-Rex division with one league game remaining. The program’s first league title seemed possible.
But, the Panthers have faced their share of tough games before. With four seniors on the floor, who had each been part of three league championship-winning seasons already, Franklin leaned on its experience down the stretch, finding a second gear that would take it to the final whistle.
Franklin put together a 16-2 run to grab control of the game, outscored the Bombardiers 21-6 in the fourth quarter, and rallied for a 61-51 victory that sealed a fifth straight outright league title. The Panthers are only the second girls basketball team to win five titles in a row, joining Oliver Ames, which won from 2009-13.
Senior point guard Bridget Leo explained, “We’re such a tight group of girls. We get along so well. Coach Leighton is awesome. We just have an amazing support system really, so it just means a lot. We worked really hard for it.”
“Our group wasn’t tight at halftime,” Franklin coach John Leighton said when asked about his team’s experience in big moments. “We knew what we wanted to do better, but no one was panicking. Bridget Leo is calm as can be and her composure helps everybody and Lizzy Newman diving and causing jump balls everywhere. Our team defense at the end was really the difference.”
The game was played with a playoff-like intensity from the opening tip. Both teams were well aware of the stakes and the level of play lived up to a showdown of the division’s top two teams. Neither team was able to build a lead larger than five points in a first half that was played at breakneck speed.
Sarah Maher scored all seven of her points for Attleboro in the first, including a deep three and a long jumper. Goldrick (12 points, five assists, and three steals) put the Bombardiers up 8-6 with a steal and tough finish, plus the foul. Vanessa Ellis (10 points and 10 rebounds) followed with a tough runner while falling away from the rim and Attleboro had the early edge.
Franklin came right back. Katie Peterson (12 points and six rebounds) got in the paint for an and-one to cut the lead down to one and, after a pair of free throws from Elle Bonacci, Sasha Tracey came off the bench to convert a steal into a layup and a 13-12 lead. Goldrick was fouled with no time on the clock and made one-of-two to tie the game after one.
The second quarter was even more frenetic, with both teams making big shot after big shot. After Caelyn Leonard (eight points and five assists) drove to the basket for a five-point lead, Avery James gave Attleboro a spark with all seven of her points in the second, including a three that cut the lead to 20-18.
Chloe Fales (11 points and five rebounds) drove to the rim for an and-one, but Goldrick answered right back with a three. Norah MacCallum got her lone bucket on a tough finish, but again Goldrick was right there to tie it with another triple. Lizzy Newman (11 points and eight rebounds) banked in a jumper and then scored off a nice feed from Leonard to put Franklin back up four, but Lily Routhier (13 points and six rebounds) fought to keep a possession alive, scoring in the paint to send Attleboro to the locker room down 32-31.
Routhier kept going in the third quarter, as she and Ellis combined for 12 of Attleboro’s 14 points in the frame. The Bombardiers were also causing problems for Franklin with their zone, holding the Panthers to just eight points in the third. Routhier tied the game at 34 apiece with a three and Ellis put Attleboro ahead 37-35 with another tough runner.
Peterson’s layup put the hosts back in front, but then a 6-0 run gave Attleboro the lead and the momentum. Routhier was on target again from long distance and Rylie Camacho got out in transition for her lone basket. In the closing seconds, Ellis grabbed a defensive board and took it coast-to-coast to give Attleboro the 45-40 lead with eight minutes to go.
Attleboro got the first basket of the fourth too, but from that point on the Panthers were in control. Leonard was finding space in the heart of the Attleboro zone and her passing was opening up shots for her teammates. Fales buried a three off a Leonard pass to start the rally.
“We were getting some looks, and I wouldn’t say we ran out of gas, but the shots weren’t falling,” Attleboro coach Bri Bracken said about the late stretch. “Maybe a little nerves come in and I was trying to tell them, relax, it’s okay. We just have to be poised because the team that’s the most poised is going to pull out the ‘W’ and we just need to relax.”
Leo (eight points), who generally focuses on playing defense and getting Franklin into its sets, then started calling her own number. The senior point guard had a nice Euro step on a drive down the middle and hit a tough baseline floater to tie the game at 49-49. She had six points in the fourth.
“At the end of the game, as the energy level was rising, I was like, I need to turn it on,” she said. “I noticed I had a lot of gaps and I wasn’t taking them at the beginning, so I definitely decided to turn it on in the fourth quarter.”
Leighton praised Leo’s impact on the other end of the floor as well. He said, “They did so much early ball-screening action and her defense to take that away, they didn’t get any first looks. That’s her and communicating on screens. No one’s coming to the game, look at them take on the screen, but it made a difference in the game. I give her all the credit.”
Leonard got a bucket off a pass from Peterson to put Franklin in front for good and then she was able to connect with Newman for a layup and a four-point lead. Another kick-out from the senior forward found Fales for her second three of the quarter and a 56-49 lead with just 1:37 to go.
“Being four seniors on the court, we’re definitely able to keep it calm, cool, and collected and Chloe, she’s just awesome,” Leo said. “She really knows how to hit that clutch shot at the end. Having that experience really helps us in general and then bench was awesome, they were so loud, the fans were so loud. It was just an awesome environment.”
Ellis tried to answer with a tough layup, but Leo matched it by finding some space on the baseline and Peterson went 3-of-4 at the line to end hopes of an Attleboro comeback.
“I just told them, keep your heads high and I’m really proud of them,” Bracken said. “At the beginning of the game I said, if you leave everything on the floor and play with your hearts, give everything in the tank then I’ll still be proud of you whether we win or lose.”
When asked about Franklin becoming just the second girls basketball team to win five straight league titles, Leighton first praised Davenport champ Foxboro for handing the Panthers their only league loss and then added, “We went through Foxboro and through Wachusett and bounced back and put it together and found out who we are. Our talent is good. Our collective talent is way better than any individual talent.”
Franklin (15-2) will close out league play on Friday at home against Milford. Attleboro (13-6) will travel to North Attleboro in the final league game of the season.
- Taunton Cousins Dominate in the Circle and at the Plate - 06/19/2023
- Softball Photos: Taunton vs. Central Catholic - 06/19/2023
- Dynasty Continues, Taunton Wins Third Straight D1 Title - 06/19/2023