Grafton 6th Grade Girls Basketball Champions!

The Grafton 6th Grade Girls Travel Basketball Team won their division championship game on Sunday against an undefeated Auburn! There were six Grafton teams to make it to the playoffs this year.  Congratulations to the girls and the other Grafton basketball teams for a fabulous 2012/2013 season.

Andrea Rogers and Nancy Buffone formed this team in 2011. The players were only in 4^th grade that year. We were the youngest team in the SCMYBL league. We had a rough start ending our first season 2-10 and landing in second to last place in our division. We improved in 2012 finishing our season with a 7-5 record which landed us a spot in the middle of the division.

Every player from our 2012 team returned to play again this year.  Our 2013 team is comprised of 11 players and 2 coaches.  We have nine 6^th grade girls and two 5^th grade girls. (5^th graders = Taylor Paulauskas and Andrea St. Jean).  We finished the regular travel season in second place with a record of 9-3.  On Saturday, March 2^nd, we played Mendon/Upton in the semifinals.  We had split results with Mendon/Upton during the regular season – we won one and they won one.  We had just played them the Sunday before and lost a hard fought battle 29-28. We were determined to reclaim a victory, so we came out strong on 3/2 for the semifinals and beat Mendon/Upton 27-25 – advancing us to the championship game. 

In the championship game, we played Auburn. Auburn was undefeated in the regular season. They held the first place position.  We played them only one time during the regular season, losing 26-29.  Feeling extra confident and strong from our semifinal win the night before, we played against Auburn on Sunday with great intensity, and we were able to maintain the lead for most of the game.  The final score resulted in Grafton as Champions – 22-16.

This year, the girls should be most proud of how they have learned to work together as a team.  This championship wasn’t won in just one game, it was won over the course of the season. The girls learned their positions and to trust each other.  Calleigh Herren and Anya Kopyra lead the team in scoring, averaging 5 points a game each. Abby Rogers and Grace Buffone used their skills and their height to their advantage leading the team in rebounds, averaging 7 and 5 rebounds a game respectively.  Jenna Gordon and Peyton Walker powered the ball up the floor with the support and the quickness of Nicole Sweeney and Abi Berry. We consistently counted on points in the paint from Taylor Paulauskas and from Jordan Eddy at the elbow, and Andrea St. Jean was a force to be reckoned with on defense.

This 6^th grade team is a talented group of young ladies. They support each other both on and off the court. Their sportsmanship should be commended and their effort is fully recognized by their coaches and their parents. We couldn’t be prouder.