By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WORCESTER — However you define an underdog in sports, the Wakefield High girls’ basketball team epitomized it on Tuesday night in Worcester.
A long bus ride, a loud gym, a 20-1 opponent who beat you by 30 earlier this year, all without the services of your leading scorer and senior captain.
The No. 11 Warrior underdogs met these challenges admirably, and, despite a 49-30 Sweet 16 loss to No. 6 South High, proved the collective toughness and talent that has come to define what has quickly become one of the best programs in Eastern Mass.
“This was going to be a challenge,” said Wakefield head coach Jason Pavey. “South is a super tough team and they really took it to us the first time we played (56-23 on Jan. 31). I give the kids a lot of credit. They accepted the challenge all week and didn’t back down. I thought the score was not really indicative of how close the game was.”
That was certainly the case after a rock fight of a first quarter saw South lead just 6-4, their only two field goals of the frame coming in the last minute. South’s reputation as a dominant defensive team was certainly on display, especially in front of a rocking home crowd in what was a top-notch state tournament environment.
What the Colonels and their fans might not have known was that they were matched up against another of the state’s best defensive teams. The Warriors proved that all night, even after South hit some key 3-pointers throughout the rest of the contest –shots that often make all the difference when points are at a premium.
“Believe it or not, our game plan was to slow them down and turn this into a slog,” said Pavey. “When it was 6-4 after the first quarter, we were ecstatic. We were really dialed in defensively and to hold a team that routinely is in the high 60s and 70s to 49 is no small feat.
“Give South credit though, they were just as good defensively and at the end of the day, they hit some back breaking shots…but we made them work for it.”
Wakefield couldn’t match their hosts in terms of hitting big shots or finding a rhythm offensively as South took a 21-8 lead into halftime. Of course, that was always going to be difficult without the aforementioned leading scorer and captain Emma Quinn who was out with an injury that also sidelined her for Wakefield’s first round victory over Longmeadow last week. The Warriors got some good offense from the likes of junior Brooklyn Calder (10 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl) and sophomore Emma Ickes (9 pts, 4 reb) but they certainly missed Quinn, especially when they were chasing the score in the second half.
“Offensively, we knew this would be tough, especially without Emma,” admitted Pavey.
Even still, with all of these odds stacked against them and trailing 28-13 halfway through the third quarter, Wakefield proved their mettle, battling back with heart and hustle to make it a 10-point game going into the 4th.
Calder’s first of three 3-pointers made it 28-16 and sparked the Warriors with 3:30 left in the 3rd.
The highlight of the comeback bid came on back-to-back pure hustle steals by junior Aliza Margolis (4 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl) and Calder, the second leading to a layup for Margolis and forcing a South timeout.
As they did all game, the Colonels responded with a big shot, this time a 3 but Wakefield was fully in the fight now as they got a counter from junior Jade Waterhouse whose corner 3 in front of the Warrior bench off a nice find from Calder made it 32-22 after three.
As the coach mentioned, Wakefield’s hustle came from all seven players who saw the court. Junior guard Shea Suntken led the team in rebounding with 7, no easy task for a guard. She kept plenty of possessions alive, especially in the first half to help set the tone.
Senior captain Savannah Cummings (2 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk) battled for position all game against South’s tough and athletic forwards, all while protecting the paint from multiple talented drivers.
Ickes had some great drives to the hoop herself, seeking contact and getting to the line where she went 4-for-6, certainly not easy with a crowd as dialed in as South’s.
Senior captain Grace McHugh also provided some great hustle and defense off the bench.
“It’s tough to highlight one player because literally every kid on our team was awesome from an effort standpoint,” said Pavey. “They played super hard and the kids that did not get in were engaged, loud and supportive. It was great to see us be a team in every sense of the word.”
South officially pulled away in the 4th, hitting back-to-back triples with about three minutes left, punching their ticket to the Div. 2 quarterfinals where they will meet No. 3 Notre Dame of Hingham.
Tournament losses are never easy, but Wakefield walked out of South High with the confidence in knowing they held nothing back, a trait embodied by the three senior captains Cummings, McHugh and Quinn.
“The three seniors, Emma, Savannah and Grace have been invaluable,” said Pavey. “They’ve all grown so much as players and people. They modeled the work ethic and commitment it takes to be successful in this program.
“Savannah and Grace battled through injuries to play out this year. Unfortunately, Emma’s injury wouldn’t let her finish it out. But she’s leaving here as a League MVP and one of the hardest working players I’ve ever had in the program.
“All three are not only great players, but great people.”
With that, Wakefield (16-6 overall) concluded another incredibly successful season, highlighted by their third consecutive Middlesex League Freedom Division title. The Warriors went 12-4 in league play.
“Overall, this was a great year,” said Pavey. “We hit a lot of our goals; winning the ML Freedom for the third time in a row was probably the biggest accomplishment. “Over the last four years, the kids have worked really hard to set a pretty high bar for Wakefield girls’ basketball.”