With a young team that is replacing all five starters from a year ago, the Westwood High girls basketball team has experienced some growing pains thus far this winter. Friday night against Medway, Molly McLaughlin provided some medicine.
The sophomore guard picked a Mustang pocket on her own baseline in a tie game with five seconds to play and raced the length of the court, laying the ball just before the buzzer to lift the Wolverines to a thrilling 47-45 win.
The victory, which improved Westwood to 4-3 on the season, marked a pivotal stepping stone for the Wolverines, who had twice surrendered leads late in overtime losses this year, including a 20-point edge to Hopkinton their last time out.
“We definitely needed this, this was huge winning a close game against a good team,” said first-year Westwood coach Brianne Bognanno. “We had a gameplan, we knew it was going to be close and they really wanted to win a game like this good team, especially after what happened last time. We are good team and we are going to hang in there.”
Four Wolverines had at least eight points, led by Kelly Casey’s 15. Medway’s Jillian Muntz matched her with 15 while Katy Howard added 13 for the Mustangs and coach Andrea Dixon, the former Norwood High star, whose team is now 4-3.
A tense fourth quarter featured six ties, with neither team leading by more than a basket. Kelley Steeves came off the bench to twice tie the score with hoops and a Kerri Harrintgton free throw gave Westwood a 43-42 advantage with 2:07 remaining.
Stef Danehy answered with a free throw to tie it but Casey put the Wolverines back up 45-43 with less than a minute to play.
Howard buried a pull-up jumper on the other end to even it up once again at 45-all. Casey had an opportunity for another response, getting fouled with 22.9 left after collecting her own offensive rebound, but both attempts from the line were off the mark, setting up a wild ending.
Medway, which was playing without 6-foot starting center Elena Radzikowksi, again looked to Howard for the big shot and she nearly delivered as a difficult-angle jumper from behind the backboard nearly fell. Instead, it rolled off the rim into the hands of Danehy, but not for long.
McLaughlin swooped in for the steal and took off the other way, streaking ahead of the pack to the rim as the clocked ticked down and kissing it off the glass and through as final fractions evaporated.
“I just didn’t know how much time was left and I was trying to make sure I didn’t miss it,” said McLaughlin, who finished with 10 points from her point guard spot. “I was so excited because we had lost that heartbreaker in Hopkinton.”
“She’s been pretty consistent for us and she has been pretty even-keeled when it come to her emotions,” said Boganno of McLaughlin. “Especially on that last play, she had the composure to take it all the way in rather than try and stop and pop.”
As has been their habit this year, Westwood raced out an early lead, scoring six quick points out of the gate and leading 15-5 at one point in the first quarter. But Medway closed the gap with a 10-1 run and took their first lead of the game at 21-20 with three minutes left in the first half.
McLaughlin responded with a jumper, however, spurring the Wolverines to a 25-22 edge at the break. With Westwood leading 32-30 late in the third, Muntz scored five straight points to give Medway it largest lead of the night at 35-32. A Harrington bucket pulled the Wolverines within 35-34 at the end of the third, and the teams were never separated by more than two points the rest of the way.
Only this time, it wasn’t the Wolverines leaving the court shaking their heads at the end of the tight game.
“It’s inexperience, none of them have really had to be in an entire varsity game, it’s never been there responsibility to win a game or hold a lead and now they are starting to learn what that’s like,” said Bognanno. “They are willing to learn, they are dying learn, and I feel like they are doing that daily.”
