Duxbury wins battle of unbeatens
Watertown girls’ basketball falls in EMass Division 2 championship game at TD Garden
Raider Times photo / Walter Morris
The first visit to the TD Garden parquet for the Watertown girls’ basketball team was not a happy occasion, as the Raiders were defeated by Duxbury, 49-30, for the Division 2 EMass title on Tuesday, March 10, 2015.
March 11, 2015
All good things must come to an end.
The Watertown High girls’ basketball team had its magical undefeated season cut short one step away from the finish line, falling to Duxbury, 49-30, in the EMass Division 2 championship game on Tuesday, March 10, at TD Garden.
It was a tale of two halves, as a 26-22 Raider lead at intermission quickly disappeared in a Duxbury domination of the final 16 minutes of play. The Dragons outscored the Raiders in the second half, 27-4, rolling to a blowout and a ticket to the Division 2 state championship game on Saturday at the DCU Center.
“We’re [25-0] for a reason,” said Duxbury coach Robert Sullivan. “We gave up 33 points a game during the regular season. We gave them too many dribble-drive opportunities, and we tightened that up in the second half.”
Watertown senior Rachel Morris takes a free throw during the Division 2 EMass title game at TD Garden on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. The Raiders were defeated by undefeated Duxbury, 49-30.
Duxbury’s second-half revival was led by senior forward Catherine Harrison, who posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds on the night. The Raider defense couldn’t contain the Dragons’ towering tandem of Harrison (officially listed at 6 feet 1 inch) and 6-4 senior Molly Quilty, as Duxbury dominated the rebound count throughout.
“They were just big,” said Watertown junior Michaela Antonellis. “They were really tough. It was hard to get by them. At the end, it wasn’t a 20-point game.”
Watertown head coach Pat Ferdinand agreed, saying, “They were just big in the paint. Everything clogged up, and I didn’t think we were able to get to where we wanted to. They were fast, they were big, they were physical.”
Things started off seemingly well for the Raiders (21-1). Sophomore Shannon Murphy’s buzzer-beating layup at the end of the first quarter left the Raiders down just 2 points, and despite Harrison already totaling 10 points and 6 rebounds, Watertown went into the half with a 4-point lead ( 26-22). Antonellis was, as per usual, having herself a fine game through two periods of play, with 8 points already to her credit.
Despite the early optimism, as if a flip were switched, the Dragons came to play in the second half, and the Raider shooting turned ice cold.
Led by Harrison, Quilty, and senior Madeline Foote, Duxbury took a commanding lead with a 23-2 run that spanned the entire third quarter and most of the fourth. The Raiders missed 15 consecutive shots before Rachel Morris scored with two minutes to go.
The Raiders graduate just two seniors this year, Rachel Morris and Gianna Coppola, who, with brothers Marco and Anthony and sister Gabby, serves as the fourth and final Coppola sibling to play basketball at Watertown High. That group that includes three 1,000-point scorers and two state championships among them.
The rest of this Raider team, however, looks to learn from their recent campaign, and will return many key players.
“I’m proud of our girls,” Ferdinand says, “I’m proud of our character. I think we carried ourselves with pride, with dignity. We played hard through the end.
“We’re a small school, small numbers, and basketball isn’t our [school’s] biggest sport. But we’re really passionate about what we do, and I’m so lucky and blessed to have such a great coaching staff, and kids that are so smart and intelligent, and who want to work as hard as they can, and I’m just going to take that in.”
–March 10, 2015–
