Girls’ basketball fell to Needham 65-57 in a hard-fought game that ended in double overtime, Tuesday, Dec. 12, at home.

“We just have to play a little bit harder,” said Maura Hamel, the head coach. “We’ve got to play harder at practice. We’ve got to play harder at games.”

North started off strong with a quick layup, but Needham quickly respond with a couple of baskets. North maintained a slight lead supported by four successful free throw shots from junior Abigail Wright, a captain with seniors Sophia Beatrice and Kasey Frohn. North led 12-11 at the end of the quarter.

Although both teams struggled to score in the second quarter, North’s strong offense and defense eventually found a rhythm and widened the gap as the quarter ended 25-20.

According to sophomore Nadia Briggs, the team’s defense started crumbling in the third quarter as they lost “energy on the court and off the court.” However, thanks to a three-pointer by sophomore Maggie Scanlon they still maintained a lead at 35-33.

In the fourth quarter, North’s defense failed to stop Needham’s offense, and the Tigers fell behind. Yet with one minute left to go, Wright tied the game up at 47-47 with a layup, and the game went into overtime. 

In overtime, both teams fought hard to pull ahead of the other but neither successfully gained enough momentum to do so, and the first overtime ended in a 52-52 tie.

A string of successful free throws by Needham in the second overtime helped them grow confidence and steadily gain points while North lost power on the court. North was unable to hold off Needham’s momentum and the game ended 65-57. “I just think we need to do things smarter. We had moments where we could have taken care of business and we didn’t,” said Hamel. 

Junior Sophia Murphy added that she is optimistic about the team’s future. “We’ll be able to keep on improving because we lift each other up,” she said.

North, 3-3, lost to Cathedral High School 72-55 Thursday, Dec. 23, away. They won the Garden City Classic defeating Millbury 54-31 in the finals Dec. 29. They play next at home against Brookline Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6:30 p.m.