The lights are back on at the Watertown Middle School Gymnasium and the 2025-26 Basketball Season is underway. While Boys Hoops travelled to Belmont to open their campaign, the Girls opened at home to begin the the third and final interim season of hoops at the Middle School before beginning play at the new High School Gym in December of 2026. Coach Mike Tempesta, in his third year at the helm, and his young and small (as in only ten dressed) squad got off to a good start with a 63-54 win over the cross-town rival Marauders.
The Raiders graduated four seniors, all starters, so change was in the air, but at the same time, not so much. The starting five on this night included senior captain Sophia Setouhi, who played a significant role on last year’s team. It also included returning junior Aisling Brennock, fresh off an excellent Field Hockey campaign and ready to play a more significant role on this year’s team. Brooke Lambo, the third Lambo girl on the way to being a hoops star in Watertown and beyond, returns after a fine Freshman season. And rounding out the starting five were two fabulous freshman, Natalie Haley and Natalia Keuchkarian, who contributed significantly to last year’s 14-8 team as eighth graders, and already seemed ready to take on starring roles.
Tonight’s game did not play out like a first game of the season, full of nerves and turnovers and lack of a shooting eye. Well, don’t get me wrong, all those things were in play, but up and down competitive basketball was just as much the theme. Neither team ever led by double digits, and lead changes were as frequent as honking horns at the Common Street rotary. Sophomore Guard Sarah Geller had 7 first quarter points for Belmont on the way to a 16-12 lead after one quarter. But Watertown picked up its defense in the second, especially after going to a 2-3 zone, although they didn’t have an answer for forward Sophia McClendon, who had 8 in the quarter. And offensively, Natalie Haley made her first two 3-pointers of the season on the way to a 12 first half points. At the half, the Raiders led 29-26.
On this night, Coach Tempesta went only six deep, with Freshman Diana Martin the only other player to see the floor on this night. Diana is another who made the squad last year as an eighth grader and started to see more minutes the second half of the season. The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams finding some range from beyond the arc, including two from Brennock and one from Keuchkarian, one of her two on the night. After three quarters, it was Watertown 43 and Belmont 39.
The fourth quarter saw both teams get a bit tight, with turnovers picking up. A promising sign though, and an improvement on a real achilles heal for last year’s team, was free throw shooting. Late in the fourth, and with Belmont playing catch-up and in need of stopping the clock, Haley, Lambo and Keuchkarian all went to the line four times and they combined to make 11 of 12 attempts. That and two more three’s from Haley and the night ended in joy, a third straight win over Belmont to start the season, this time 63-54.
So, on a night when captain Setouhi, a growing offensive star last season, went scoreless, youth was served. Certainly there will be ups and down this season. Watertown isn’t overly tall or physical, and on this night the remaining bench — seniors Moya Flanagan, Lori Kouyoumjian and Morgan Macomber, as well as freshman Mackenzie Highland — were not called upon to contribute. Not every game will go that way, and Coach Tempesta will learn more about his team when the time comes. What he knows now is that Haley and Keuchkarian, 24 and 19 points respectively, are ready to shine most nights, even though they are young and physically still maturing. But, they will learn how to match physical play with physical play of their own, and best of all, they are both natural scorers. And Brooke Lambo’s (11 points) upside is huge, especially as she refines her inside game and bag full of moves which are already so good.
So enjoy the future, now, because it’s here and fun and will only get better as the season progresses. Next week, the Raiders travel to Woburn on Tuesday Night Dec. 16, and are home Friday at 5:30 p.m. as apart of a Girls/Boys doubleheader versus Wilmington.
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1 2 3 4 – F
Belmont 16 10 13 15 – 54
Watertown 12 17 14 20 – 63
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Haley… 24 points (4 3-pointers)
Keuchkarian… 19 (2 3-pointers)
Lambo… 11 (1 3-pointer)
Brennock… 9 (3 3-pointers)