The Girls Varsity Basketball Team is young, starting two freshman and a sophomore, and the first off the bench is a freshman. The season is young, as the Raiders have only five games under their belt, yet they are already 3-1 in Middlesex League play and in first place in the Freedom Division, heading into Tuesday night’s game versus Reading. And the year is young, as Tuesday night’s game was the first of nine games in January that will tell a lot about how this team manages growth and development in the competitive Middlesex League. The game was the girls’ first in seven days, but rust was not an issue as the Raiders came out humming to the tune of a 16-2 first quarter on the way to a 43-32 win, getting January off to a great start.
Freshman guard Natalia Keuchkarian got off to her own great start, with 8 points in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers. The team created havoc on defense, and Reading’s lack of execution on offense contributed to the Raiders dominant quarter. Senior Sophia Setouhi had steals, sophomore Brook Lambo rebounds, freshman Natalie Haley deflected a number of passes and freshman Diana Martin came off the bench and provided energy and rebounding at both ends.
By the half, Watertown had built an 18-point lead at 28-10, and it wasn’t until late in the half that Reading even made it to double figures. The third quarter saw two teams struggle to create offense. Watertown missed a series of lay-ups that would have grown the lead to close to 30, and perhaps that was a harbinger of things to come. Or perhaps it was just the game of basketball behaving like the game of basketball — which is to say that a comeback was sprouting as the final quarter began.
The fourth started well enough as a pretty Keuchkarian drive for a lay-up gave the Raiders a 37-17 lead, and a false sense perhaps that the game was over. But then … a Reading team that turned the ball over all night long, to a near-epic degree … a Reading team that never found it’s range from the outside for three quarters … and a Reading team without an inside presence or natural scorer — this team — suddenly came to life. Watertown helped — a lot! They turned the ball over at every opportunity. They stood around and allowed Reading offensive rebound after offensive rebound. And the Raiders committed silly fouls.
Put all that together and you have one of any potions available to teams at the very popular “Basketball Comeback Store.” Before you know it, and with still just under 4 minutes remaining in regulation, the Reading Rockets had outscored the Raiders 15 to 2, and a 20 point lead was now 7. Two timeouts and a number of pep-talks later, the Raiders broke the spell thanks to a Natalia Keuchkarian bucket that got the lead to 9. A couple of empty possessions by Reading later — and Watertown drawing fouls to get in the bonus — Keuchkarian finished off her strong night with two trips to the foul line and four free throws made, capping off a 19-point night.
It also put the end to Reading’s vision of a post-holiday miracle, and even though the Raiders were outscored 15-8 in the quarter, their night could officially be deemed successful. The Raiders move to 4-1 in league play and 4-2 overall. And while there will be more nights like this one, with the Raiders being in the envious position of playing well, getting a big lead and then holding on to it — OR — digging a big hole and falling behind and having to play catch-up, Coach Mike Tempesta knows he has a young team with talent and potential and so much room for growth, and that is what January will be all about. Eight more games this month to learn and grow, and hopefully succeed at the same time. On to Wakefield Friday night!
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1 2 3 4 – F
Reading 2 8 7 15 – 32
Watertown 16 12 7 8 – 43
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Watertown Scoring
Natalia Keuchkarian… 19 points (3 3-pointers)
Natalie Haley… 9 points(1 3-pointer)
Brook Lambo… 8 points
Diana Martin… 4 points
Aisling Brennock… 3 points
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Upcoming Schedule
Friday January 9… @ Wakefield
Tuesday January 13… @ Winchester
Friday January 16… @ Melrose
Tuesday January 20… versus Arlington @ Watertown Middle School, 7 p.m.
Friday January 23… versus Burlington @ Watertown Middle School, 5:30 p.m.