Brookline Hangs Tough Against 3rd-Ranked Braintree in Loss

By Eliot Schickler

Give the Brookline High girls’ basketball team credit for its ability to stay competitive against a highly-ranked team.

Although Brookline’s effort fell short of a victory in a 44-39 home loss to Braintree High last Friday, January 24 – the third-ranked team in the Division 1 power rankings – no one can fault the Warriors, who dropped to 5-7 – in their endeavor of pulling off the upset. Braintree raised its record to 12-1.

“We stepped up to the challenge for the most part, but it was the little things that cost us in the end,” Brookline Coach Kendell Jones said. “We didn’t box out at critical times, and we turned
it over near the end of the game. We need to be consistent [at all times].”

The Warriors, who trailed 6-1 in the first four minutes of the game embarked on an 11-0 run that spanned two quarters to take a 12-6 lead with 6:59 remaining in the half. Sophomore guard Izzy Wood spearheaded the run with two steals, including a coast-to-coast layup after pick-pocketing a stunned Wamp, which kicked off the surge at 3:20 left in the first quarter. Wood (six points, four steals, two assists, two rebounds, three forced turnovers, one tie-up) gave Brookline an 8-6 lead when she swished a 3-pointer and forced a turnover which led to junior quad-captain Nefeli Aga-Kitch’s steal.

Senior quad-captain Olivia Matraraza’s layup off a dime from Makalusky, which was sandwiched in between Wood’s layup and trey.

After her steal, Aga-Kitch (six points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals) then set up senior quad-captain Olivia Zanini’s layup, which increased the lead to four – 10-6 – which was the score after the first quarter. Zanini was a strong blue-collar player for the Warriors and many of her contributions weren’t reflected in the stat sheet.

Junior Jada Kimbro’s (three points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, three forced turnovers, one tie-up) coast-to-coast layup after grabbing a defensive rebound gave Brookline its aforementioned 12-6 lead, but that was the team’s last points of the half. A scoring drought
afflicted the Warriors where they weren’t able to get the ball through the net, and their rebound woes were also costly. Braintree took advantage with a 13-0 surge to close out the half and led 19-12 at the break.

Wamps senior captain Francesca Spadorica led her team with 20 points. Spadorica was also a force on the glass and gave Braintree many second-chance opportunities.

“We weren’t communicating at all [in the second quarter],” Mataraza said. “We knew Braintree was a physical and aggressive team going in and we had to match its physicality and aggressiveness.”

Brookline’s scoring famine lasted for 7:38 and didn’t score again until Makalusky hit a free throw with 7:21 to go in the third quarter to break the dry spell, and Kimbro added a free throw 14 seconds later to make it 19-14. Overall, the Warriors were 7-for-14 from the charity stripe.

“We missed seven free throws, and we lost by five,” said Jones emphasizing how important it is for the team to make its free throws.

Makalusky (nine points, five rebounds, two assists) swished a trey off an Aga-Kitch pass to cut the deficit to two, 19-17, off a pass from Aga-Kitch at 5:23 remaining. However, Spadorica immediately answered the triple with a layup, which started a 7-2 spurt to push the lead back up to seven, 26-19 with 3:13 left.

Mataraza (nine points, five rebounds, two blocked shots, three forced turnovers, one tie-up) came alive for Brookline in the second half, scoring seven points after the break, and ended the Wamps’ mini-run with a jump shot. The 6’2 Mataraza used her length to her advantage in controlling the paint and intimidating Braintree’s players.

Junior quad-captain Ivy Wheeler (two points, three rebounds, one tie-up) provides the Warriors with a blue-collar mentality and similar to Zanini shows grit on the court in doing things that aren’t reflected in the stat sheet. Wheeler drew a foul and hit a free throw. Aga-Kitch’s basket pulled Brookline within two, 26-24, but Wamp senior Ciara Zelano (10 points) immediately answered with a layup, which started a 7-1 run to push the lead back up to eight, 33-25 with 7:35
remaining in the game.

Warrior senior Kyrieh Simmons (two points, one assist, one forced turnover) ended the rally with a layup, and after classmate Julia Dencker saved a possession and prevented a turnover with a tie-up, Aga-Kitch’s layup, cut the deficit to four, 33-29 with 6:10 left.

Although it struggled on offense with 10 turnovers – some coming at the most inopportune times, and rebounding, Brookline played well defensively in forcing 13 Braintree turnovers. The Warriors cut the deficit to two on two more occasions, the last one at 38-36 with 2:31 to go, but they couldn’t get any closer despite having three opportunities to tie the game. However, they missed shots and weren’t able to knot up the game.

“Especially in the first half, we weren’t boxing out,” Mataraza said. “We need to fix it. We need to focus on playing better defense and communicating on defense.”

Jones said, “I’m happy with how we stepped up in the second half. Braintree was more physical and we lost focus at times, but I’m happy with how we played in the second half.”

Giving the Wamps a scare proves that the Warriors can be competitive with any team when they play their best.

“The fact they are the No. 3 team in Division 1 says a lot about us,” Mataraza said. “I’m proud of how we played. I wish we won, but we almost beat the No. 3 team [in Division 1], which is a confidence booster.”

Brookline Loses at Natick

Brookline lost 59-38 at Natick High on Tuesday, January 28, and dropped to 5-8. Natick raised its record to 11-3.

Turnovers cost the Warriors at Natick, where they gave the ball away 25 times. While they struggled on offense, they played well on defense, forcing 20 Redhawk turnovers.

Rebounding woes cost Brookline in this game as well. Natick feasted on second-chance points.

Mataraza (nine rebounds, two steals, one assist) led the Warriors in scoring with 10 points. Kimbro (five rebounds, one steal, one tie-up) and Aga-Kitch (eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, one blocked shot, two forced turnovers, two tie-ups) weren’t far behind with nine and
eight points, respectively.

Wood (four steals, two rebounds, two assists, three forced turnovers) and Wheeler (five forced turnovers, one steal) scored five and four points, respectively, and showed grit throughout the game.

Junior Jaden Wiliams (one forced turnover) and Makalusky (four rebounds, one steal, two forced turnovers) each tallied a point.

Also contributing for Brookline were Zanini (one assist, two forced turnovers, one tie-up), Simmons (one assist, one steal), Dencker (two forced turnovers), senior Amelie Hauner (one steal, one forced turnover), and McDonald (one rebound, one forced turnover).