Role Reversal: Improved Warriors Tame Wildcats

By Eliot Schickler

Reversing roles from last year benefited the Brookline High girls' basketball team when it faced Weymouth High.

After finishing the 2023-24 season at 1-19, trading places worked to its benefit when it traveled to Weymouth on January 9. Last year, the Warriors experienced growing pains after graduating seven seniors from the 2022-23 team which finished at 16-4 in the regular season, 17-5 overall, and lost 48-31 to the Weymouth Wildcats on January 23, 2024.

Conversely, the Wildcats were 18-4 during the 2023-24 season and reached the Division 1 quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual state runner-up Wachusett Regional High. Weymouth had seven seniors, including a couple of college athletes on the team that reached the Elite 8.

Brookline gained experience through last year’s trials and tribulations, which enabled it to improve exponentially. The Warriors are showing that their progress is paying off and successfully reversed roles from last year with a 51-33 victory at the Wildcats to raise their record
to 4-5 on January 9. Weymouth dropped to 0-8.

“It felt good to beat Weymouth,” Brookline Coach Kendell Jones said.

Although the Warriors won, they didn’t make it easy for themselves in the first half. They committed 11 first-half turnovers, 16 overall.

While Brookline struggled on offense, it compensated for its deficiency on offense with a strong defense in forcing 15 Wildcat turnovers before the break, 25 overall, in taking a 24-18 halftime lead. Junior quad-captains Nefeli Aga-Kitch and Ivy Wheeler, along with sophomore Izzy Wood were instrumental in forcing Weymouth into surrendering the ball. Aga-Kitch led the visitors with five forced turnovers while Wheeler and Wood caused four miscues each.

“Going into the game, we knew Weymouth had not yet won any games this season,” Warriors
senior quad-captain Olivia Mataraza said. “The win was a bit more of a struggle to get than we would’ve hoped, but winning is great”

Junior Jada Kimbro (11 points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, one forced turnover) had
nine first-half points to lead Brookline’s offense. Kimbro had two coast-to-coast layups after grabbing the defensive rebound in the second quarter and swished a 3-pointer off a feed from Aga-Kitch (three points, five rebounds, three assists) to give the Warriors an 8-5 lead with 3:55 remaining in the first quarter.

The 6’2 center Mataraza fed Kimbro for a floater layup off a backdoor cut with 1:55 left in the opening quarter to extend the lead to six, 14-8.

Senior Molly Linnane kept the Wildcats in the game in the first half and led them with 10 points. Junior Maggie Cullivan (seven points) tied the game for Weymouth at 8-8 by swishing a trey, but Brookline took the lead for good at 10-8 when freshman Skylar Makalusky (four points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, one forced turnover), who continues to improve, hit two free throws with 3:22 to go.

While the first half was too close for comfort, the Warriors began to assert themselves in the second half. Mataraza (14 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots, two forced
turnovers), who finished the game with a double-double, set the tone, scoring 12 points after halftime. The center opened the second half scoring off a dime from Kimbro, added a putback off the offensive glass, and hit a conventional 3-point play after Makalusky set her up for a layup.

Mataraza didn’t limit her contributions to scoring and rebounding. After blocking a shot and grabbing the defensive rebound, she went into Tom Brady mode in which she launched a pass to set up Kimbro’s breakaway layup. Her two understudies, senior Julia Dencker (two points, one rebound, one forced turnover) and junior Vivianna McDonald (two points, three rebounds, one assist, one forced turnover, one tie-up) also thrived in the paint. Dencker’s free throw with 1.5 seconds left gave the Warriors a 40-24 lead after three quarters.

All 12 players contributed to Brookline’s victory. Wheeler (five points, one assist, one blocked shot) sparkled in her first start of the season. Aga-Kitch (three points, five rebounds, two assists) did everything for the Warriors. Wood (three points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, one tie-up) showed a pluckiness on the court. Seniors Amelie Hauner (three points, three rebounds), and Kyrieh Simmons (two points, two rebounds, two steals, one forced turnover, one drawn charge) were solid on both ends with the former swishing a triple. Junior Jayden Williams (two points) made a layup and senior quad-captain Olivia Zanini (one rebound, one forced turnover, one tie-up) brought grit and determination to the court.

“We are thinking ahead to the tournament play so every win counts,” Mataraza said. “It’s definitely a confidence boost and hopefully will inspire the work we will continue to put into the game.”

Missed Opportunities Cost Brookline at Framingham

Despite having many opportunities to win the game, Brookline lost 47-38 at Framingham High on January 7.

Turnovers cost the Warriors, giving the ball away 22 times overall, 15 in the first half. Although Brookline was generous in surrendering the ball to Framingham, it also engaged in thievery. The Warriors forced 20 Flyer turnovers, 15 in the opening half. Wood (two rebounds, one assist, one tie-up) and Kimbro (six points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal) effectively double-teamed Framingham in forcing five and four turnovers, respectively.

“I think in regards to Framingham, we are starting to have fun giving their best players some trouble,” Mataraza said. “Our defense allows us to force turnovers which frustrates the other team a lot and gives us some easy baskets. The next time we meet them is at our senior night [February 4] and if we adjust a little bit, I like our odds.”

Wheeler (two forced turnovers, one steal, one tie-up, one charge drawn) had a career-high 11 points to lead Brookline. Mataraza (nine points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots, three forced turnovers, two steals, one assist, one tie-up, one altered shot) was a force in the paint. Aga-Kitch (five points, five rebounds, three steals, three forced turnovers) did everything for Brookline.

Makalusky (four points, five rebounds, two steals, one assist, one forced turnover) did many good things and Zanini (three points, five rebounds, one assist) played with determination.

The Warriors have hovered around the high 20s in Division 1 power rankings since they came out. The top 32 teams make the state tournament regardless of record.

“After last year it’s a good feeling to be a ranked team,” Mataraza said. “Seeing other teams that we’ve had close games with a lot higher on the rankings is also a big motivator as we look to play in the tournament.”