Sports
Watertown Girls Basketball Rolls Past Previously Unbeaten Oakmont in State Tourney
|
Watertown senior Caroline Andrade led the Raiders in scoring against Oakmont in the Round of 32 State Tourney game. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
On paper. A common-used phrase when analyzing a game that has yet to occur is “on paper,” as in the Oakmont High School Girls Varsity Basketball team, on paper, should be feared. They won 20 in a row, and only a loss in their last game kept them from being undefeated. And so, despite coming into tonight’s Round of 32 MIAA Div. 3 State Tournament game against Watertown as the 18-seed, perhaps “on paper” Watertown, the 15-seed, should be worried- and the underdog? The MIAA determines seeding based on strength of schedule, a.k.a. quality of opponent, margins of wins and losses, and record. As far as Watertown was concerned, they knew they earned their 13-8 record, 11-5 in a very competitive Middlesex League. Oakmont, located west of 495, plays in the Mid-Wachusett League, and clearly the MIAA didn’t believe their record alone, while impressive, was enough to warrant a higher seed. Well, boys and girls, the MIAA got it right. Watertown came out of the gate strong, played an almost-flawless first quarter on the way to a 19-5 lead after one, and never looked back. Watertown came away with a 63-43 win in a game that got unnecessarily chippy at the end, but fortunately no one got hurt.
