The 4th seeded Hopkinton Hillers earned their ticket to the Semi-Finals against 1st seeded Notre Dame Academy of Worcester by beating 5th seeded Ashland 54-47 in the quarter finals matchup. Undefeated Notre Dame Academy stayed undefeated as they took down the Hillers Girls 61-48.
In the first quarter, the Rebels of Notre Dame Academy dominated offensively and outscored Hopkinton 21-8. Rebels Senior star, Molly Terry dropped 10 of her 30 points in the opening frame. The 2nd quarter was a more even battle. The Hillers took advantage of the Rebels physical style of play and hit 9 of 11 free throws in the quarter. Hillers outscored NDA 13-11 in the 2nd and went into halftime down 32-21.
Junior, Mikayla Pucci opened the 3rd quarter with 4 points to pull the Hillers within 8 and the Hillers did a much better job against Senior Molly Terry, holding her to only 4 points in the quarter. Freshman Elle Potvin helped fill the void however as she dropped 6 points in the quarter as the Rebels outscored Hopkinton 15-12.
The Hillers had a nice surge in the 4th quarter but Molly Terry added 8 more points for the Rebels and the Hillers just could not keep up offensively. Hillers outscored the Rebels 15-14 but lost the game 61-48.
Head Coach Mike Greco did an excellent job in his first season as Hillers Girls Head Coach and the team had a tremendous season. Many key players will be back for Hopkinton next year so more post season play should not be too far down the road. Hillers finish the season 15-7. Notre Dame Academy advances to take on Medfield in the Central Division 2 Championship, Saturday 12:45 at Fitchburg State.
Scoring:
Hillers:
Julia Canestrari – 10, Emma Lacasia – 2, Lilly Morningstar – 10, Mikayla Pucci -14, Regan Keavany – 6, Ivy Gogolin – 6
Notre Dame Academy (Worcester):
Elle Potvin – 14, Molly Terry – 30, Abi Potvin – 5, Anne Spellane – 6, Allison Smiley – 6