Girls’ basketball saw a 60-31 victory over the Framingham Flyers while honoring National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Wednesday, Jan. 28.
The Reggie, decorated with streamers and balloons, was filled with young female athletes dressed in pink.
Senior Nina Bakal, a captain along with seniors Allie Danis, Nikki Rao, and junior Mia Mescher, led a speech about the holiday as the crowd excitedly anticipated the start of the game.
According to Bakal, North started slowly, with Framingham putting the first points on the board. The Tigers rebounded quickly, scoring off of multiple fouls by the Flyers, and a three-point shot from Rao.
As the first quarter came to a close, both teams battled with strong efforts to tie the score 15-15.
“We can’t start slow. We need to take the opportunities, and we can’t afford to give up a quarter or two, not playing our basketball,” said head coach Todd Sundstrom.
Heading into the second quarter, sophomore Annabelle Wardly and Bakal both scored three-pointers. The tide of the game began to shift, as the Tigers’ efforts increased along with their score.
The intensity continued to build as Danis stole the ball from Framingham, running down the court to end the first half of the game 25-19, in favor of North.
“We really picked up our energy, and realized what we were capable of,” said Bakal. “We started to get the defensive stops, and it was really important to swing the momentum for the game.”
The Tigers, returning to the court with a bang, began the second half with a quick three-point shot from junior Makenna Kelley. Quinn saw multiple defensive steals to draw fouls from Framingham, and the score rose to 40-23 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
North kept its energy high moving into the last quarter, with the Tigers continuing to bait fouls and Rao scoring a clutch basket.
The Flyers were unable to put more points on the board, as North scored multiple three point shots to finish the game with a final score of 60-31.
The Tigers, 6-8, triumphed against Wellesley Friday, Jan. 30. They will travel square up against Natick Tuesday, Feb. 3.
