HOLDEN — Call it a clean sweep, running the table or just plain undefeated — it matters not to the Wachusett Regional High girls basketball team. What matters most is the squad’s advancement to a perfect 20-0 seasonal record with a 57-40 victory over visiting Franklin High on Feb. 21. The perfect regular season was the team’s fourth in the last five years, and does nothing to refute the contention that the WRHS program is in the top echelon of teams across the state.
Wachusett now advances to host the winner of Brockton v. Andover in the round of 32, where the Mountaineers are rated second in the state, behind Bishop Fenwick High. Wachusett defeated Bishop Fenwick twice during the 2023-2024 campaign.
“Honestly, it’s all about the grind. It feels great to be undefeated, but we know that it’s not going to get easier,” senior co-captain Mary Gibbons said. “We’re playing great teams all over Massachusetts, so we’re excited but we need to prepare. We need to focus on what we want, and that’s a state championship.
“We knew at the beginning that we had potential. We had every piece of the puzzle, and last week the puzzle pieces started coming together. Everyone played well on offense and defense, plus we had great energy coming from the bench. I have so much confidence in this team. We really want the state tournament, and when everyone’s 100% in it to win it, it’s a great feeling.
“Everyone’s so dedicated, and that includes the coaches. They have families, and they stay up at night studying film and watching teams we’re going to play. The dedication they put in is really special, and that motivates us as a team. Everyone has the same end goal, and that’s to be in it to win it.”
“They were determined coming into the season,” said head coach Jim Oxford, who eclipsed his 300th career milestone victory in early February. “They knew they were close after knocking at the door the last two years. Now they’ve played some tough teams, and they’ve come out on top. They’re playing with a lot of confidence. When we’re shooting well and playing well, we’re a hard team to beat.”
In its matchup with Franklin, leading scorers were Gibbons with 18 points and Rileigh Leary and Jaelynn Scott with a dozen apiece. Liz Cain chipped in with 4. Wachusett led at halftime, 27-19, and busted out in the final 16 minutes with 15 points in the third and four quarters.
“We’ve been playing together since fourth grade, so to see it translate into now is special,” said Gibbons of the roles of the senior team captains, held down by herself, Leary, Cain and Hannah Best. We’re the people we used to look up to when we were little, and now we are the ones trying to set an example for the younger kids, and it’s great to see them here. This is what we’ve wanted for the past 10 years.”
“Every team we play is super good, and we know that one loss can mean the end of the season,” echoed Cain. “It’s amazing because we’re all so close together and that friendship translates onto the court. We know what each of our strengths are and how we work best with them. It’s so special working together towards that end goal. It’s just so exciting.”
“We spend so much time with each other off the court, and that translates into our relationship on the court. “We’ve been working for this for 10 years now, and we’re excited to now be in the playoffs,” Best added.
Going forth into MIAA playoffs will require a full team effort that Oxford knows will be there.
“Four of our seniors have been to two state semifinals, so I absolutely had high hopes going into the season. I could see us rising to the top leading up to the Comcast Tournament. We played two really good teams and we did a great job, coming out on top. They’re realizing my expectations, and they know they’re not done.”
