LOWELL, Mass. — Medfield coach Mark Nickerson rarely steps out of his coaching zone to simply marvel at his girls basketball team. But finally, during a fourth-quarter onslaught to finish off the Division 2 championship, he let himself appreciate perfection.
The top-seeded Warriors put an exclamation point on an otherworldly winter with Friday's 72-38 rout of third-seeded St. Mary's at Tsongas Center. Sophomore star Abby Broderick (25 points), Tri-Valley League MVP Naya Annigeri (17 points) and senior Tess Baacke (17 points) stamped a 25-0 season in which Medfield beat every opponent by double digits.
"I've got to rip them off the floor after our practice," Nickerson said. "The boys want to come out and practice, and our girls are shooting around, and I can't get them out of there. They love the sport. They want to be as good as they possibly can be. They want to compete in this kind of atmosphere, and they want to show everybody how good they are, and I think they did that today."
Medfield struggled to score in the first quarter as St. Mary's (23-4) opened with frenetic ball pressure, highlighted by efforts from Janae Holmes (10 points) and Sky Watson (seven points). But the Warrior defense dialed in quickly. Sisters Naya and Kameli Annigeri assumed their places at the top of Medfield's imposing press and racked up deflections. Baacke flew around off the ball, helping defend St. Mary's center Charleigh Green and adding turnovers on the back line. The Warriors closed the first half on an 8-0 run as Broderick heated up with strong drives to the basket.
"Every single practice, we sometimes have to double her," Baacke said. "She's just that amazing, and she truly is the best teammate I could ever possibly ask for. She's always there to pick you up, and she's such an awesome player."
Medfield extended the lead to 41-22 by the midway point of the third quarter. St. Mary's, energized by a couple of hustle plays and layups from Holmes, cut the gap to 14 points. Then the floodgates opened.
Beginning with a late-third quarter Naya Annigeri 3-pointer, the Warriors rained seven 3s down before the final buzzer. Annigeri, Broderick, Baacke and Megan Olenik (nine points) each hit from behind the arc during the surge, and by the time Medfield emptied its bench the lead had swelled to 70-34.
Among Medfield's 23 in-state wins, opponents scored 40 or more points just twice. Nickerson had his squad fine-tuning their cornerstone 2-1-2 press in the days leading up to the championship by using jump ropes.
"There was a lot of slack in those jump ropes because they were moving before it ever got pulled in the right direction," he said. "They're really smart basketball players. They know what their responsibilities are."
On this year's squad, while Annigeri and Broderick typically led on the score sheet, Baacke chipped in her own points and battled for rebounds against taller opponents. Baacke, a 5-foot-9 senior headed to Bowdoin, ends her high school career as a three-time state champion with a combined 94-6 record — and a story of resiliency through tragedy that is even more remarkable.
"She is a special, special person who's gone through some really difficult stuff and come out stronger for it," Nickerson said. "She's just a tremendous person. I'm so proud of her. I don't really have the words to explain it."
To Baacke, this year's Warriors separated themselves with a innate chemistry.
"We just instantly clicked. It's amazing," she said. "This team is one of the best teams that I've ever played for. They're truly my best friends. I don't know what I would do without them."
