Stoughton’s 6th Grade Girls’ Travel Basketball Team Finishes 3rd in State Tournament

The following was submitted to Stoughton Patch:

The weekend of March 24-25 the Stoughton/STOYAC competed in the State Tournament at Mass Premier. The girls went 2-1 finishing in 3rd place in the State. Their only loss was to the eventual champion North Andover.

They were invited to compete in the tourney by .

Having been in Division 2 last year the girls set a goal of going at least .500 record for their first year in Metrowest Division 1. Not only did they accomplish that by going 10-2 for the season, they were first in their Division.

In the Metrowest Tournament the girls made it to the final game by winning the first two rounds.

Everyone on the team contributed to the team’s wins, either through good defensive efforts or scoring their first points of the season, which brought the crowd and bench to their feet.

In the Championship game the girls lost to Milton to finish second.

The State Tourney brought together teams from all over Massachusetts. In the first game Stoughton was paired up against Groton/Dunstable, who played against Seventh Graders all year and only lost once. Stoughton built and early 13-0 lead and held on to win by two points to move on to face North Andover.

This game was a was a rematch from the Thanksgiving Day tourney where Stoughton handed North Andover their only loss in the past two years. North Andover came out ready to play motivated by their loss and quickly took the lead. Stoughton fought back from a 31-17 deficit to tie it at 31 but was not able to overtake North Andover and lost.

The Consolation game for third place featured a familiar opponent—Milton. This was the fourth time the teams played each other this year so Stoughton knew what to expect.

Stoughton wanted to end their season on a winning note and came ready to play. The game was a close one until the 4th quarter when Stoughton, through a good defensive effort, started to pull away. Stoughton won the game by seven points to take third place in the State.

The Stoughton team consists of 12 incredibly dedicated and amazing players, always thinking of the teams goals before an individual accomplishments.

The roster includes: Gina Carafa, Meghan Foley, Taylor Levine, Asiah Dingle, Lauren Berteletti, Cassie Lamb, Alex Soto, Allyssa Cole, Jordan Motley, Caitin Carreiro, Gianna DeNapoli, and Valerie Whalen, along with the Coaches Keith Levine and Jim Whalen.

The girls have put together an incredible year of basketball not only for their team but for the town of Stoughton.