Turnovers, Rebounding Woes, Cost Brookline Against Vaunted Walpole

By Eliot Schickler

Turnovers at the most inopportune times, and rebounding issues cost the Brookline High girls basketball team in a 48-43 home loss to Walpole High.

Walpole, which is ranked 10th in the Division 2 power rankings, raised its record to 8-3. Brookline showed many positive signs during the game, and it’s a vastly improved team from last year, which dropped to 4-6.

Overall, there were 13 lead changes and eight ties, but in the end, the Warriors committed 23 turnovers – 13 in the second half. The Timberwolves committed 18 turnovers – courtesy of Brookline’s tenacious defense, nine in each half, but they had an 11-3 advantage in second-chance points and outscored the Warriors, 12-1 in the final 4:49 of the game.

“We had big turnovers near the end of the game, and we didn’t get to the 50-50 balls,” Brookline Coach Kendell Jones said.

No one can blame Warriors senior quad-captain Olivia Mataraza for the team’s loss against this strong program. The 6’2 Mataraza had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and did everything to keep Brookline in the game.

Mataraza (three assists, three forced turnovers, two steals, one blocked shot), showed that she’s worthy of being a First Team All-Bay State Conference selection when the BSC votes on postseason awards. In addition to her double-double, the Warrior Center altered shots disrupted Walpole’s passing lanes owned the paint and set successful screens on offense to free up Brookline’s shooters.

However, the Timberwolves had an effective counterattack and drew Mataraza and her teammates to guard their shooters outside the paint. Although the 6’2 captain forced them to miss many shots, a Walpole player managed to be alone in the paint and grabbed the offensive rebound, which led to the Timberwolves having an eight-point advantage in second-chance points.

One of those offensive rebounds belonged to Walpole sophomore Ryan McDonnell, who dribbled the ball out to the perimeter and swished a 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining in the game to give her team a 46-43 lead. McDonnell finished the game with eight points, including two treys.

“Lack of communication hurt us near the end of the game,” Mataraza said. “We focused on stopping their best player, but there was miscommunication where we over-helped, which gave them open shots.”

Mataraza was referring to Timberwolves junior co-captain Bella Bingham. Although Bingham had 18 points and made her presence felt, the Warriors mostly held their own against the 6’0 center. However, she created openings for her teammates, and Walpole’s guards took advantage in converting six 3-pointers.

Following McDonnell’s clutch triple, the Warriors had two chances to respond. Their first opportunity resulted when they attempted a 3-pointer, which was an airball caught by Timberwolves junior Abby McMann. Brookline played aggressive defense for most of the game, and its tenacity paid off when junior quad-captain Nefeli Aga-Kitch (10 points, three rebounds, two steals, one assist, two tie-ups, two forced turnovers) tied up McMann for the jump ball, giving the ball back to the Warriors because of the possession arrow favored them.

However, McMann immediately intercepted the inbounds play with 46.1 seconds left, and
Walpole had the chance to milk the clock. Brookline needed to foul to extend the game, but since it only committed two fouls at that juncture, it needed to commit three fouls.

The third foul resulted in the Warriors fouling Bingham with 16.2 seconds left. She made both free throws to make it 48-43. Brookline needed two baskets and after missing a desperation trey, McMann grabbed the defensive rebound and dribbled it out to end the game.

Despite falling short in the end, the Warriors did many great things all game. Senior quad-captain Olivia Zanini was a sparkplug off the bench for them and did many things to lift them in the first half. Despite being a 5’5 guard, Zanini (two points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, one forced turnover) aggressively rebounded well and kept a few possessions alive.

Junior Jada Kimbro (nine points, three rebounds) hit a few big shots for Brookline. Kimbro banked home a triple off a dime from sophomore Izzy Wood (one rebound, one assist, one steal, one forced turnover), which tied it 27-27 late in the second quarter, and after aggressively winning the battle for the defensive rebound, she gave the Warriors a 42-36 advantage with 4:49 remaining in the game off a backdoor cut from Mataraza.

Freshman Skyler Makalusky continues to improve her game as a 5’11 guard who also performs the functions of a forward. Makalusky (eight points, six rebounds, two steals, one tie-up, one forced turnover) hit a trifecta and was aggressive on defense.

Despite being a 5’5 guard, junior quad-captain Ivy Wheeler (three points, six rebounds, three steals, two tie-ups, one assist, one forced turnover) was tough on the glass. Wheeler drew a foul after grabbing a defensive rebound with 55.5 seconds left in the half and hit a free throw to give Brookline a 31-27 halftime lead.

Also playing well on defense was junior backup center Vivianna McDonald (two steals, one rebound, one forced turnover).

“We need to work on not turning the ball over,” Zanini said. “Walpole gained momentum from our turnovers.”

Despite the loss, the Warriors see a silver lining.

“We did well today with energy, and we did better than we did against Weymouth [a 51-43 Brookline road win on January 9],” Zanini said. “We need to bring the same energy to every game.”

Mataraza said, “I’m definitely proud of how we played for the most part. We were able to keep up with Walpole and stay with them for most of the game.”

Although Brookline is below .500, it's ranked 26th in the Division 1 power rankings, and if it remains in the top 32, it qualifies for the Division 1 tournament.

“We need to continue to improve and hopefully, we’ll make a nice tournament run, Jones said.