Medfield Girls' Hoops Cruise Past Hingham; Advance to Saturday's Quarterfinals

The girls' basketball team made quick work of Hingham in Thursday's first round of the MIAA Division 2 South Sectional State Tournament with a 77-25 victory over the Harbormen.

The number two seeded Warriors outscored Hingham 20-6 in the first quarter, including a 15-0 run, to take control of the game right out of the blocks and did not allow the underdogs to build confidence. Medfield's press forced 20 turnovers by halftime and kept Hingham from getting into an offensive flow.

Medfield head coach Mark Nickerson was impressed by the way his team jumped opened the tournament.

"We got off to a nice start," Nickerson said. "We shot the ball well in the beginning, which was good. We threw pretty much everything at them and got a little bit out of everything."

Medfield finished with four players in double digits in scoring. Ali Maileszko and Kate Thomas (who added six rebounds) each led the team with 12 points, while Kristin Fechtelkotter and Payton Ouimette (six rebounds) each added 11 points. Even with all the starters resting in the fourth quarter, Medfield managed 24 points in the period with Katelyn Nochese picking up seven points in the final minutes.

"It's nice to get rest for the starters," said Nickerson. "All these games are important so this experience is a real good start for us. It was a good step."

Hingham was led by Sierra Irvin's eight points and Taylor Potter, who finished with six. Head coach Tom Levett said the Harbormen struggled to match up with Medfield's size and versatility.

"They played really well," Levett said. "Give all the credit to them."

It was not all negative for Hingham, however, as the Harbormen finish the season at 12-12; a considerable jump from last year's 3-19 record, and the team took home a victory over Sandwich in the preliminary round. Levett sees the program moving in the right direction.

"Unbelievable season for us," Levett said. "I'm proud of the kids, our three seniors ... the Hingham program is on the map. We have a lot of work to do, but we plan to do it. I'm excited about that."

Medfield (22-1) can look forward to its quarterfinal round game at home on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against familiar foe Hopkinton, who the Warriors beat in two Tri-Valley League games this season.

To view the MIAA D2 South Sectional bracket, click here.