March 5, 2025
• The Rockets finished their season at 12-10. The Needham (#13) and Braintree (#4) girls basketball teams met for the third time this season on Tuesday, March 4, this time in the playoffs, in another close game that came down to the wire. And for the third time, the Wamps emerged victorious with a 52-47 win over the Rockets. Needham trailed by 13 at halftime but cut the deficit to two points in the fourth quarter, before Braintree pulled away in the final minute of play. With the win, the Wamps will advance to the Round of 8 to face Woburn (#5) while the Rockets’ season ends. The first quarter went back and forth, ending with Braintree holding a slim 13-10 lead. The Wamps’ defense was aggressive in the first quarter, forcing six turnovers by the Rockets and holding them to 1-of-4 from three-point range. Needham led by two points at the 1:52 mark but gave up five unanswered points to close the quarter, a theme that stayed for the rest of the game. The Rockets opened up the second quarter with a three from Hannah Levine, who finished with 13 points and five rebounds, to tie the game but the team struggled offensively the rest of the way, scoring just three more points in the frame. Needham went scoreless for over four minutes and, after finally ending the drought, gave up a 10-0 run in the final three minutes to go down 29-16 at halftime. Braintree struggled from the line in the first half, converting just 7-of-14 shots, but they capitalized on their three point shooting, hitting both attempts in the second quarter. The Wamps also won the turnover battle, forcing 10 from the Rockets while only giving up five of their own. Frankie Spadorcia, the Bay State Conference Herget Division MVP, led Braintree with 10 points and six rebounds in the first half. Needham flipped the script in the third quarter, opening with a 5-0 run in the first 45 seconds and eventually pulled within three of Braintree. The Rockets’ three-point shooting improved, as they shot 60% in the quarter, but unfortunately for Needham, the Wamps stayed hot and shot 75% from behind the arc. Braintree closed the quarter on another run, this time 8-2 in the final three minutes to push their lead back to nine. Despite trailing for a majority of the game, Needham refused to go away, closing the gap to just two points in the fourth quarter. But the Rockets fell just short of completing the comeback. With 45 seconds remaining, Needham fouled Spadorcia, who sank both free throws to put the game out of reach. She finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Braintree. The Wamps struggled from the free throw line in the first half, shooting just 50%, but they delivered in crunch time, hitting 7-of-10 from the stripe in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Eva Downing led Braintree with 17 points, highlighted by a few timely three-pointers. Camozzi recorded 14 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, while Callie McCarthy added 11 points. The Rockets’ season ends in the Round of 16 with a loss to a Bay State Conference foe for the second straight year, following last season’s loss to Weymouth.
• The Rockets finished their season at 12-10. The Needham (#13) and Braintree (#4) girls basketball teams met for the third time this season on Tuesday, March 4, this time in the playoffs, in another close game that came down to the wire. And for the third time, the Wamps emerged victorious with a 52-47 win over the Rockets. Needham trailed by 13 at halftime but cut the deficit to two points in the fourth quarter, before Braintree pulled away in the final minute of play. With the win, the Wamps will advance to the Round of 8 to face Woburn (#5) while the Rockets’ season ends. The first quarter went back and forth, ending with Braintree holding a slim 13-10 lead. The Wamps’ defense was aggressive in the first quarter, forcing six turnovers by the Rockets and holding them to 1-of-4 from three-point range. Needham led by two points at the 1:52 mark but gave up five unanswered points to close the quarter, a theme that stayed for the rest of the game. The Rockets opened up the second quarter with a three from Hannah Levine, who finished with 13 points and five rebounds, to tie the game but the team struggled offensively the rest of the way, scoring just three more points in the frame. Needham went scoreless for over four minutes and, after finally ending the drought, gave up a 10-0 run in the final three minutes to go down 29-16 at halftime. Braintree struggled from the line in the first half, converting just 7-of-14 shots, but they capitalized on their three point shooting, hitting both attempts in the second quarter. The Wamps also won the turnover battle, forcing 10 from the Rockets while only giving up five of their own. Frankie Spadorcia, the Bay State Conference Herget Division MVP, led Braintree with 10 points and six rebounds in the first half. Needham flipped the script in the third quarter, opening with a 5-0 run in the first 45 seconds and eventually pulled within three of Braintree. The Rockets’ three-point shooting improved, as they shot 60% in the quarter, but unfortunately for Needham, the Wamps stayed hot and shot 75% from behind the arc. Braintree closed the quarter on another run, this time 8-2 in the final three minutes to push their lead back to nine. Despite trailing for a majority of the game, Needham refused to go away, closing the gap to just two points in the fourth quarter. But the Rockets fell just short of completing the comeback. With 45 seconds remaining, Needham fouled Spadorcia, who sank both free throws to put the game out of reach. She finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Braintree. The Wamps struggled from the free throw line in the first half, shooting just 50%, but they delivered in crunch time, hitting 7-of-10 from the stripe in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Eva Downing led Braintree with 17 points, highlighted by a few timely three-pointers. Camozzi recorded 14 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, while Callie McCarthy added 11 points. The Rockets’ season ends in the Round of 16 with a loss to a Bay State Conference foe for the second straight year, following last season’s loss to Weymouth.
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