Watertown High School will have three teams in the state tournament brackets this winter, with both the boys and girls basketball teams along with the boys hockey team being seeded by the MIAA state committee on Friday.
The Raiders boys basketball team took the highest seed, slotting in fourth in the Div. 3 North Section bracket. Watertown, which finished 15-6 will get a home game, will look to make a deeper run that last year, when the Raiders fell in the section quarterfinal.
The Raiders host 13th-seeded Saugus in the first round, on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The winner of that game plays the winner of the Hamilton-Wenham vs. Swampscott game. Also in the Div. 3 North bracket is Minuteman, who got the eighth seed.
Div. 3 North Boys Basketball field:
1. St. Mary’s
2. Amesbury
3. Newburyport (@Port_Athletics)
4. Watertown (@WatertownSports)
5. Hamilton-Wenham
6. Shawsheen (@shawtech_sports)
7. Greater Lawrence
8. Minuteman
9. Arlington Catholic
(1/2)@BostonHeraldHS — Brendan Connelly (@BConn63) February 21, 2020
Div. 3 Boys Basketball field (continued):
— Brendan Connelly (@BConn63) February 21, 2020
10. North Reading
11. Weston (@WestonAthletic)
12. Swampscott (@SportsBigBlue)
13. Saugus (@Sachempride)
14. Dracut (@dracutmiddies)
Also returning to the state tournament will be the WHS boys hockey team. The Raiders accumulated a record of 12-6-2 playing a non-league schedule this year. They team has been improving over the past three years after the varsity team went on hiatus for a year due to low numbers. Last year, the Raiders got to the North quarterfinal.
Watertown will play a first round game against the three school coop squad of Rockport/Manchester-Essex/Ipswich on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m., at O’Brien Rink in Woburn. The winner plays the victor of the game between Essex Tech and Swampscott
DIVISION 3 NORTH
FIRST ROUND – Thursday, Feb. 27
Game 1 – Lowell vs. Somerville
Game 2 – Swampscott vs. Essex Tech
Game 3 – Rockport vs. Watertown
Game 4 – Hamilton-Wenham vs. Newton South
Game 5 – Northeast vs. Latin Academy
Sites, times will be assigned throughout morning — Jim Clark (@In_The_Slot) February 21, 2020
For the second year in a row, the Watertown High School girls basketball team will be in the big dance. The Raiders finished 9-11 but qualified by the Sullivan Rule where schools with a winning record in their division qualify for the tourney.
Watertown got the 10th seed, and the Raiders will travel to play at Latin Academy in Roxbury in the first round, on Monday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. The winner will play No. 2 seed Amesbury in the quarterfinal.
Division 3 North girls: 1. St. Mary’s; 2. Amesbury; 3. Whittier; 4. Bishop Fenwick; 5. Lynnfield; 6. Winthrop; 7. Latin Academy; 8. Austin Prep; 9. Manchester-Essex; 10. Watertown; 11. Bedford — Danny Ventura (@BostonHeraldHS) February 21, 2020
Last year the Raiders upset No. 5 seed Shawsheen in the first round before losing to eventual state finalist St. Mary’s of Lynn.