Watertown Girls' Basketball Team Falls to Pentucket in State Tourney

The Watertown girls’ basketball team finished the season on a down note, falling to host Pentucket 52-22 on Monday in the first round of the MIAA Div. 3 state tournament. Despite the loss head coach Patrick Ferdinand said he remains proud of his team’s effort during his first year in charge.

Ferdinand knew he faced a tough opponent in Pentucket (19-4), the No. 3 seed in the Div. 3 North Section, which has won three section titles in the past four years.

“Coming into it we knew they were athletic and it would be an up-tempo game,” Ferdinand said. “We expected good pressure, but early on was a lot more than what we expected. They are an extremely tough team, skilled, well-rounded, really tough team."

The Sachems led 35-8 at halftime. In the second half the Raiders played better, Ferdinand said.

“We were able to pull back a bit in the second half when we were able to pressure them back,” Ferdinand said.

Pentucket head coach John McNamara told the Newburyport News that he told his team to focus on stopping Watertown freshman point guard Gabriella Coppola, whose brother Marco is a senior on the Raiders’ boys' basketball team.

"Their No. 10 Coppola is a good little point from a basketball family,” McNamara said. “We knew coming in that she was the key, so we tried to shut her down. She still beat us off the dribble a bunch, but I think overall we disrupted their offense by doing that. The second half was real sloppy, but sometimes when you have a big lead, that happens."

Coppola led Watertown with 9 points. Pentucket’s top scorer were Sarah Higgins and Tess Nogueira, with 11 points apiece.

The Raiders finished the season 6-14, and Ferdinand said he had mixed feelings about whether he could call his first season a success.

“I think its tough to say, my standards are pretty high,” Ferdinand said. “I think we responded well, but hard to say it’s a success. We played hard, which all I could ask from them, so from that point of view I would call it a success.”

The game was the final one for seniors Jacqui Tresca, Mary Izzo, Michelle Poirier and Kerry Morris. Ferdinand said the seniors have done a lot of good work, and he is excited about the players coming back.

“They are going to want to take on the challenge of improving,” Ferdinand said. “It is an exiting time for Watertown girls’ basketball.”