Franklin sophomore Chloe Fales goes up for a layup in the second half against Newton South. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
FRANKLIN, Mass. — Franklin battled against foul trouble throughout the first half and couldn’t quite shake the 18th-seeded Lions of Newton South.
But with its full complement of players back in the mix in the second half, the 15th-seeded Panthers proved to have too many weapons.
Franklin had four players score in double figures and had a big second half offensively to land a 62-50 win over the Lions, advancing to the Round of 16.
“I thought we got in bad foul trouble early in the game and didn’t rebound great,” said Franklin head coach John Leighton. “When we got Lizzy [Newman] back we were able to use our height advantage a little more and got them to spread out [defensively] and then we could score in multiple ways. Mainly I thought it was our defense that improved and that was the difference.”
Newman had two fouls in the opening quarter and was forced to the bench for the rest of the half. The Panthers had seven team fouls before the second quarter started, meaning the Lions would be in the bonus for the rest of the first half.
Franklin came close to pulling away a couple of times, a quick 9-0 run to start the game that eventually turned into a 22-14 in the second quarter as Katie Peterson (15 points, six rebounds) sandwiched a pair of buckets down low around a three from Elle Bonacci (five points, four rebounds, three assists) but South closed on a 9-2 run in the last three minutes to make it a one-point contest, 24-23, at the half.
Newman (19 points, 10 rebounds) made her presence felt immediately to start the second half, cleaning up a miss for a putback. Bridget Leo (12 points, six assists) had a nice feed to Newman for a triple, and then after coming up with a steal, found Newman again for a traditional three-point play. Peterson linked up with Newman down low for two, and Newman cleaned up her own miss for two more.
“Lizzy played a great game, having her back really opened things up, having multiple tall girls out there allowed us to move some things around,” Leighton said. “You saw Chloe drive more, Bridget started to drive more, and it really allows everyone else to do more.”
A free throw from Sasha Tracey preceded a bucket from Peterson to extend the lead to nine (42-33) but Newton South’s Maddy Genser drove to the basket for a late field goal to close the gap to seven going into the fourth.
The Lions twice cut it to five early in the fourth quarter but a putback from sophomore Chloe Fales (10 points, five rebounds) and a three from Newman (off a nice extra pass from Bonacci) moved the lead back to seven. After a brief scoreless stretch, senior Caelyn Leonard had a nice pass to set up Leo for a triple and the lead finally hit double-digits, 52-42 with just under four minutes to play.
“It’s everyone contributing in the playoffs,” Leighton said. “It’s not going to be pretty, it’s never how you draw it up so I was really proud of the girls. Playoff basketball is about winning those energy plays. I thought in the first half Norah [MacCallum] came in and gave us some really good defense and then Elle came in and gave us some points right away, and had that great assist to Katie on the back door cut.”
Franklin girls basketball (17-4) will travel to #2 Bishop Feehan (17-4) for a Division 1 Round of 16 game, which is currently scheduled for Monday at 6:30.
Boys Basketball
North Attleboro, 45 @ Attleboro, 56 – Final – North Attleboro senior Derek Maceda poured in 12 of his 16 points in the third quarter and North Attleboro scored 19 in the frame to cut the deficit to single digits, but Attleboro kept the visitors at bay in the fourth to secure the win. The Bombardiers built a 29-15 lead at halftime but Maceda helped orchestrate a comeback attempt, hitting a three at the buzzer to pull the Rocketeers within 43-34 going into the fourth. Attleboro senior Justin Hanrahan opened the fourth with five straight points — two free throws and a traditional three-point play — to restore the Bombardiers’ double-digit advantage and they held it the rest of the way. Jaiden Outland had a team-high 12 points, Hanrahan added 10 points, and Michael Beverly chipped in with nine points. Sophomore Chase Frisoli added 14 points for the Rocketeers.
Canton, 39 @ Mansfield, 61 – Final – Mansfield and Canton were level after the first eight minutes but the Hornets went on to outscore the visitors in each of the final three quarters to run away with a 61-39 win over the Bulldogs, clinching the Davenport division title outright. After going back-and-forth, the teams were tied 14-14 after one but Mansfield had a big second quarter with JT Veiking (18 points, 5 rebounds) sinking a pair of threes and Eddie McCoy (13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) adding a triple of his own to push the lead to 32-20 at half. Chris Hill added 10 points for the Hornets. Caden Mirliani had a team-high 12 points for Canton.
Foxboro, 52 @ Oliver Ames, 31 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. – Foxboro set the tone early with its defensive effort and had a consistent performance on the offensive end to win its final league game of the year, pulling into a tie in third place of the Davenport division with Canton. The Warriors limited OA to just six points in each of the first three quarters with disciplined defense and good rebounding. Foxboro senior Alex Penders dominated on both ends with a game-high 24 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, and four assists to lead the way for the Warriors. Rayna Kelley added nine points and four rebounds. Sophomore Cole Craffey led OA with eight points and four rebounds.
Franklin, 63 @ Milford, 53 – Final – Franklin clicked into gear in the third quarter and then pulled away for good in the fourth against a resilient Milford squad. The Hawks had a one-point lead after the first but Franklin had six players contribute to the scoring in the second and went 9-for-10 from the line in the period to stake a 27-23 halftime lead. Hansy Jacques had his best game of the year for the Panthers as the junior erupted for nine of his career-high 16 points in the third quarter and senior Geino Scaringello hit a pair of threes as Franklin extended its lead to 45-34 going into the fourth. Franklin junior Sean O’Leary finished the game strong, scoring 12 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth, going 7-for-10 from the line overall in the game. Milford sophomore Andrew Rivera had a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds, senior Wyatt Zagami added 11 points, and sophomore Luca Testa finished with 10 points for the Hawks.
King Philip, 57 @ Taunton, 71 – Final – It was a tale of two halves as Taunton flipped the script on visiting King Philip by erasing a double-digit deficit at the break and running away with a 71-56 win. Grant Kinney, Tommy McLeish, Tommy Kilroy, and Trevor Clyde each connected for a three in an 18-point third quarter that saw the Warriors surge ahead 33-23 at halftime. Taunton freshman Jakari Innocent flipped a switch in the second half as he scored 20 of his career-high 22 points after the break, including 11 in the third quarter to jumpstart the Tigers’ offense. Junior Troy Santos added six in the frame and had 17 of his 22 points in the second half. Al Morisseau added 10 points and Chris Volcy chipped in with nine points for Taunton, which scored 21 points in the third and 27 points in the fourth quarter, going 13-for-19 from the line. Tommy Martorano and Kilroy each had 11 points for KP while Brandon Nicastro finished with 10 points.
Sharon, 75 @ Stoughton, 73 – Final (OT) – Sharon erased a four-point deficit with under 20 seconds to go to force overtime and then outlasted the Black Knights in the four-minute extra period to secure the win on the road over an upset-minded Stoughton squad. Jayden Costa-Haywood (20 points) sank a pair of free throws to push Stoughton’s lead to 67-63 but a foul sent Matt Baur (22 points) to the line, and his two free throws cut the deficit in half with 17 seconds to go. The Eagles were able to trap with the press and pick off a pass, which led to a floater from Baur taking a kind bounce and in with two seconds left to make it 67-67. Baur opened the overtime with a triple and Jacob McLoughlin (17 points) added a free throw to push the lead to four. After Stoughton got it back to three off a free throw from Jarred Daughtry, McLoughlin had a traditional three-point play with two minutes to go to make it 74-68. Costa-Haywood answered on the other end with a three-point play of his own to cut the deficit in half. Daughtry hit two more to make it a one-point game at 74-73 with 43.1 seconds to play, and Stoughton had a shot in the air to take the lead but it was off the mark and a Tyler Goodman free throw with 1.5 seconds left iced it. Nate Katznelson added 12 points for the Eagles. Matt Greenspoon scored 16 points for Stoughton while Obi Dike added 11 points and Anthony Alessi chipped in with 10 points.
Girls Basketball
Attleboro, 65 @ North Attleboro, 36 – Final – The Bombardiers scored 20-plus points in the first and third quarters to pull away for a big bounce back win. Eight players got on the score sheet for Attleboro in the win. It was a quick start for the visitors, as Kayla Goldrick and Avery James each scored six points and Lily Routhier added four in a 20-11 quarter. Ava McKeon tried to keep North in the game with seven of her team-high 15 in the opening quarter. Attleboro scored 14 in the second, while holding North to just six. Vanessa Ellis was held scoreless for the first half, but she got things going with nine points in the third and then added another eight in the fourth to finish with a game-high 17. The Rocketeers tried battle back in the fourth with 17 points as a team, including six more from McKeon and all five of Ella McLaughlin’s points in the game. Goldrick would finish with 12 points, Routhier would have nine, and James scored eight. Sam Sweeney added 10 points for the Rocketeers.
Mansfield, 47 @ Canton, 33 – Final – Mansfield put in a strong defensive performance to secure a home win in the Hockomock finale. The Hornets didn’t allow Canton to reach double digits in the first three quarters and opened up an 18-point lead. The visitors jumped out to a 16-9 lead after one and doubled up Canton 12-6 in the second to make it a double-digit game at halftime. Abby Wager, Kara Santos, and Hallie Popat combined for 19 points in the first half. Wager would go on to score eight of Mansfield’s 10 points in the third and the Hornets held Canton to just five to break the game open. The Bulldogs had their best offensive quarter in the fourth, scoring 11 points, including four from Erin Beatty and Emily McCabe’s second three of the night. Wager led all scorers with 14, while Santos finished with 10 and Popat added eight. Fatima Sidibay was Canton’s top scorer with seven points, while Beatty and McCabe each totaled six.
Milford, 24 @ Franklin, 58 – Final – Franklin had 13 different scorers, none with more than eight points, to close out the league campaign with a big win. The Panthers held Milford to just nine points in the first half, going into the locker room with a 24-point lead. Katie Peterson scored all eight of her points in the first quarter, as the Panthers scored 24 in the opening eight minutes. The Hawks would play even in the third, as Brooke Ferreira scored eight of Milford’s 10 points. She finished with a dozen on the night. Franklin’s depth was too much. The Panthers got contributions up and down the roster. Norah MacCallum scored seven, while Elle Bonacci and Kyra McSweeney each chipped in with six. Aliza Syed had five points for the Hawks, all in the first quarter.
Taunton, 38 @ King Philip, 56 – Final – Emily Sawyer exploded for 16 points in the fourth quarter and had a career-high 34 points, powering KP to a bounce back win in the final home game of the regular season. Jackie Bonner chipped in with 14 points and four threes for the Warriors. KP grabbed the lead in the first, as Sawyer and Maddie Paschke each scored four and Bonner knocked down her first triple. The Warriors extended the lead to 25-18 at halftime, as Sawyer and Bonner had all 11 of KP’s points in the second. Cali Melo kept the Tigers close with 10 of her team-high 16 in the opening half. Sawyer and Bonner had all of KP’s points in the third quarter as well, combining for 14 to add another six points to the lead. In the fourth, the Warriors continued to feed Sawyer in the post and the 6-foot-3 center, and league’s leading scorer, had 16 of KP’s 17 points to put the game out of reach. Paschke added her fifth point of the night in the fourth. Taryn Campbell added seven points and eighth grader Raya Horton chipped in with six for the Tigers.
Stoughton, 56 @ Sharon, 59 – Final – Rachael Hager nailed the game-winning three, one of several big plays she made down the stretch, to lift the Eagles to a sweep of the season series. Hager finished with 16 points. Jasmine Davis continued to dominate in the paint, scoring a game-high 26 points for Sharon. Kirsten McKay was Stoughton’s top scorer with 15 points and grabbed four boards. Raina Tat continued her run of double-digit games, scoring 12 points, while Leah McCarty had eight points and four rebounds and Katrina Varnum scored seven and grabbed a dozen boards.
Boys Hockey
Taunton, 6 @ Everett/Revere, 2 – Final
Girls Hockey
Canton, 2 vs. Norwood, 1 – Final – Ellie Bohane scored the game-winner with 40 seconds left in regulation to earn the Bulldogs a big win against another Div. 2 title contender. Audrey Koen scored Canton’s first goal before Bohane popped up with the late winner to extend the Bulldogs’ unbeaten streak to 11 games (7-0-4).
Franklin players celebrated on the court after their fourth quarter rally to sweep Attleboro and secure the program’s fifth straight league title. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)
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.
