Girls’ basketball achieved its’ hard-earned revenge by defeating Wellesley 50-38 at home Friday, Jan. 31.
According to Todd Sundstrom, the head coach, the Tigers have been struggling for two years to defeat Wellesley. The team played Wellesley earlier in the season but lost, so this game was a chance for the Tigers to redeem themselves.
“We’re happy to get the win,” said Sundstrom. “The girls did everything they could to win, they stuck together, and played hard.”
Wellesley gained first possession of the ball from the tip-off, but North had a quick turnover, allowing the Tigers to draw first blood. Though Wellesley initially overtook North, capitalizing on poor defense, the Tigers were able to quickly gain their lead back by utilizing their offense with a few layups by junior Allie Danis, a captain along with seniors Devon Burke, Brooke Ufland, and junior Nikki Rao. Danis dominated the first quarter, and by the end, North led 12-9.
In the second quarter, North played with better movement and scored more, making easy shots with aggressive fast breaks. At the minute mark, they gained an even stronger lead with Burke making a swift layup and Rao securing an all-net three-pointer, resulting in a 25-17 lead.
“I like the fact that they put a lot of pressure, very disciplined in not reaching and getting into foul trouble,” said Sundstrom. “They stuck to our game plan which was to be aggressive, to be tough.”
In quarter three of the game, Wellesley had back-to-back shots and was starting to catch up to North again with the game tied up 22-22 at the three-minute mark. Howeverthe Tigers gained momentum through their grit and Burke made a two-point shot and a free throw, ending the quarter with a well-deserved score of 25-22.
“During the third quarter, sometimes we tend to give up and you could tell the other team was trying to get back,” said Ufland. “I think the third quarter was a big moment for us. We just kept going hard and we didn’t let up.”
North entered quarter four with even more aggression fueled by an early 3-pointer from Rao. Continuing with that energy, the defense toughened up. Wellesley began to fall behind while Burke, Rao, and freshman Annabelle Wardly endlessly scored points.
Taking advantage of Wellesley’s numerous lazy fouls, North was easily able to gain easy points through free throws. While the winners seemed evident given North’s ten-point lead at the minute mark, Wellesley still gave their final attempt, but to no avail. The Tigers kept control of the ball and closed out the game 50-38.
“I think it was a much-needed win, we’ve worked hard all week, and it felt pretty good,” said Rao. “We got the looks we wanted on offense and our defense was working pretty well too. We came out with a lot of energy and intensity.”
North, 7-7, will play Natick at home Tuesday, Feb. 4.
