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.
The most flawless player on the floor in the first quarter was senior Caroline Andrade. Oakmont had no answers, as she slashed to the basket and caused havoc. She had two field goals and went to the line four other times as a result of getting fouled in the act of shooting. She went 5-for-8 from the line in the quarter, and accounted for nine of the Raiders 19 points.
Watertown’s offense went a little stagnant in the second quarter, but other than three three-balls by Oakmont, it was a pretty even quarter. At the half Watertown held a 10-point lead, 27-17.
The other storyline in the first half was the officiating. More to the point, Oakmont was called for fouling early and often. Watertown attempted 15 foul shots in the first half, making 11, while Oakmont went to the line just three times, making two. This discrepancy continued in the second half, as Oakmont committed 31 fouls on the night, and eventually four of their players fouled out. Watertown ended up with 17 fouls on the night.
But let’s not for a second draw the conclusion that Watertown got handed a gift. Watertown forced the play, and defensively Oakmont wasn’t up to the task. In Watertown’s 23-6 third quarter that saw the Raider’s lead balloon to 27 points, Andrade scored 13 points, including 5-of-6 from the line. Senior Adriana Williams added four from the line as well.
And now we must discuss the ugly fourth quarter. In desperation, and facing the end of their season, Oakmont turned up the defensive pressure, and it affected Watertown for a bit. If the lead were only 10, say, we might be having a different conversation, but the lead was big enough that Oakmont’s 20-point fourth quarter barely made a dent. And, Oakmont kept fouling, and eventually, so upset at the officials, started acting out. Williams got two technical shots when Amaiya LeBlanc pushed Williams as she was simply trying to pull her own teammate up off the floor after a loose-ball scrum. Minutes later, Molly Horgan slammed the ball in disgust at a call and received a tech.
Williams went to the line a staggering 14 times in the fourth quarter, and she made nine. The fourth quarter felt like it took an hour to play, as Oakmont refused to quit, which is fine, but their play got a little dirty as well, and that’s not OK. When the final buzzer sounded though, Andrade had 27 and Williams 20 and Watertown had completed an impressive win on its home court. Martin was Oakmont’s high scorer with 27.
The win advances the Raiders to the round of 16. The risk/reward of getting a lower top-tier seed is that if things go as they are supposed to, the round of 16 has you facing a high seed, and on the road. And that’s just what awaits Watertown. Watertown must now travel to face the No. 2 seed in Foxborough. Foxborough’s line for the season? 15-1 league, 20-1 overall, 12-0 at home, 8-1 on road, averaging 65.0 points and only allowing 37.7.
I guess you could say then, that on paper, the No. 15 seed Watertown will be the underdog and up against it facing a mighty Foxborough team. And maybe Foxborough is just that good, but Friday night’s lesson should teach us all that it doesn’t matter what’s on paper — it’s what each team believes in about themselves and what they do on the floor when given the opportunity. Seniors Andrade, Williams and Garey (and Dicker, sidelined with injury) are excited by the opportunity, and we all look forward to this Round of 16 matchup at Foxborough on Tuesday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m.
To the Editor,
After reading the article on the Watertown vs. Oakmont girls’ basketball playoff game, I was struck by the sheer lack of objectivity in its reporting. It is clear that the author either did not watch the game impartially or chose to ignore key factors that significantly impacted Oakmont’s performance.
First and foremost, the conditions Oakmont players faced were outright unacceptable for a playoff game. The team was not provided proper locker rooms and had to resort to changing in the cafeteria—a situation that is unprofessional and unfair. Furthermore, the gym itself was not suited to host a playoff event, lacking adequate seating for fans and even bleachers. Additionally, the court had several dead spots, making it unfit for high-stakes competition.
The article also fails to acknowledge the egregiously one-sided officiating, which played a major role in the outcome. Watertown was awarded 52 free throws compared to Oakmont’s 10—an utterly absurd discrepancy in any level of competitive basketball. Naturally, frustration grew among Oakmont players when they realized they were not being officiated fairly. The referees consistently made questionable calls, and on multiple occasions, they were visibly uncertain about their own decisions, conferring with one another in confusion. To suggest that the game was “reffed” at all is generous—this was a display of officiating incompetence at best, and a game that was practically handed to Watertown at worst.
Further, the article attempts to paint Oakmont players as undisciplined by calling them “chippy” while neglecting the fact that Watertown players were using profanities throughout the game. One of Oakmont’s players, Amaiya, was assessed a technical foul for what was described as an incident where an opponent was “helping her teammate up”—a vague and misleading claim that does not align with the reality of the game. She was unprovoked at that moment, despite enduring repeated verbal abuse throughout the game, including being called several profanities and even hearing the opposing team refer to Oakmont as “Cokemont.” The article gives Watertown far too much credit, failing to acknowledge how they consistently provoked Oakmont to a level of frustration that was entirely justified given the circumstances.
That said, I acknowledge that Oakmont did not play their best basketball and at times appeared lost. However, given the circumstances—the subpar facilities, the blatant officiating imbalance, and the overall lack of fairness—it is no surprise that their performance suffered. Any team would struggle in such conditions.
This article was not only poorly written but also a misrepresentation of the actual game. If the goal was to provide an unbiased report on the matchup, it failed spectacularly. I hope future coverage will strive for greater accuracy and fairness instead of promoting a one-sided narrative that ignores the realities of what transpired.