LOWELL, Mass. — As Medfield junior Izzy Kittredge basked in the postgame festivities of a Division 2 championship, she couldn't escape a horde of young kids serenading her with "MVP" chants.
The 6-foot-1 forward could only respond with a sheepish grin. But Kittredge earned the cheers after exploding for 28 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocks, leading the top-seeded Warriors to a 62-20 rout of Worcester South. It's Medfield's second straight championship — both against the Colonels — and the 42-point margin of victory is the largest in girls state championship history.
"They've been to our clinics all season long," Kittredge said of the kids. "They support us so much. It's great to know the whole town is behind us."
Of Kittredge's 28 points, 21 came in a jaw-dropping, 43-7 second half that saw Medfield (23-2) dismantle a South (19-5) team that had given it fits defensively.
CHAMPIONS CROWNED: Division 1: Wachusett | Division 3: St. Mary's
At first, the rematch followed a similar early game script to last season: low-scoring, high-intensity half-court ball pressure. Medfield led just 10-6 after a quarter and 19-13 at half. Star sophomore Naya Annigeri did not score in the first half as the Colonels sent their best perimeter defenders after her to make life difficult.
At halftime, Medfield coach Mark Nickerson implored his team to fix its turnover problems. He also saw the chance for Kittredge, a 6-foot-1 stretch forward, to dominate in the middle of the paint against a much smaller South frontcourt.
"We stopped trying to dribble it into the paint, and we started passing it into the paint. I think that was the biggest difference," Nickerson said. "We had talked a little bit about the space that was there in the first half at halftime — we didn't really take advantage of it. So we were trying to be intentional about getting the ball there."
Kittredge went to work. Fourteen of her points came in Medfield's 28-6 third quarter: post-move buckets, driving layups from the wing and spot-up 3s. She also added three assists, two steals and a block (one of four total) in just the third frame.
"Coach made a change that left the middle side open," Kittredge said. "I just tried to play off my teammates' passes and just kind of took advantage."
Junior Tess Baacke and freshman Abby Broderick supported the rout with 10 points apiece. Broderick also registered a monster block in transition as part of her strong first state championship appearance. Add in the Annigeri sisters, Naya and Jailen Annigeri, who swarmed on the perimeter with Kittredge collecting errant passes and loose balls inside.
"We played great defensively all game," Nickerson said. "We only lost them on their shooters a couple times, but for the most part, we made everything difficult for them. Contested every shot. Got steals. Our pressure was pretty good today, too."
South was led by Ava MacCollom, who played great defense on Annigeri and scored six points, as well as Bryan Bascones (6 points).
Nickerson made it clear a state championship was the expectation for these Warriors from the moment last year's championship ended. What exceeded his expectations, aside from the final championship game score, was just how tight-knit the roster became.
"We have spectacular leaders," he said. "Girls were all crying after practice yesterday because they knew it was their last practice. When you have tears like that, in that situation, you know you have a special team, and they love being together."
