BOSTON, Mass – One team couldn’t hit the clutch shot when it needed to, while the other took advantage of the opportunity that was presented to them.
In the end, the second seeded Braintree girls’ basketball team took advantage of the situation they’d earned in the fourth quarter and came away with a 51-46 victory over top-seeded Franklin, picking up the Division 1 South Championship Saturday afternoon at the Clarke Athletic Center at UMass-Boston.
“This is huge for us,” Braintree coach Kristen McDonnell said about the victory. “For these kids, they’ve worked so hard all year at every practice. Sometimes it comes down to who’s on and who’s off and the ball fell for us when we needed it to and these kids really dug deep so I’m just so proud of them.”
That hard work and dedication showed for Braintree with the lead changing hands several times throughout the contest.
After taking a 16-13 first quarter lead, Franklin bounced back by going on a 11-3 run in the second quarter thanks to some clutch shots from Kristi Kirshe (10 points) and Alicia Wilde (11 points). Braintree responded, however, just before halftime by going on a 9-3 run of their own – sparked by a Paige Marshall three-pointer – to cut the Panther lead to one at 29-28 at the end of the first half.
“That was a huge momentum swing for us,” McDonnell said. “We came into halftime really excited and really happy where we were at. I thought we had a good battle in the first half, but I thought we would be okay after we regained the momentum [before halftime].”
By the second half, the bounce favored Braintree.
After trailing by as much as six midway through the third quarter, Braintree started to get the lucky rolls, hitting shots from beyond the arc. Marshall hit a three in that frame as part of her game-high 15 points, followed by Rachel Norton sinking another triple for three of her five points, and Annie Katie Joyce put her team ahead for good towards the end of the quarter with a lay-up in the final seconds as part of her five points.
Franklin, meanwhile, couldn’t buy a bounce despite getting some good looks, going 7-for-20 from the field in the second half.
“It’s all about the breaks,” McDonnell said. “And we were fortunate to get a few of those [today].”
Franklin had its chances to tie the game late but missed three’s by Krishe and Catie Phelan kept Braintree in the drivers seat. Braintree freshman forward Molly Reagan put the game out of reach with seven seconds left following two free-throws.
Braintree, now 22-2 on the year, advances to the Division 1 semifinals at the TD Garden where they will face the champions of the Division 1 North sectionals – either Andover or Masconomet – Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.
“This is unbelievable,” McDonnell said about advancing to the Garden. “Personally, I’ve dreamt about it for a long time, but these kids are absolutely riding this crazy high that they are on right now and I’m so happy that they get to experience it.”
Franklin, the champions of the Kelley-Rex Division and recipients of the Hockomock Cup, ends its 2011-12 campaign with a record 21-3.