Sports Roundup: Basketball Teams Took Step Forward Last Season

The girls and boys basketball teams at Winchester both qualified for the playoffs and finished with winning records, but the roads they took to get there couldn't have been more different. While the boys team was consistently around the .500 mark, the girls team experienced some wild swings.

Here is a recap of their seasons:

Girls basketball: After losing four games to start the season, Winchester went on a six-game winning streak, another four-game losing streak, then a five-game winning streak.

"We talk a lot about not focusing on the past and just learning from it," coach Jason Cacciapuoti said. "Whether it's something in the game, like a missed shot or a turnover, you move forward and keep being upbeat."

That attitude helped during the wild ups-and-downs of the season. Expectations were higher after last year's 14-7 campaign. But after an 0-4 start, the Sachems turned it around during their holiday tournament,  beating and then crushed previously-unbeaten

Shelby Santini had Winchester's last six points against Boston Latin and then scored 27 in the championship game

 "We can only go up from here," she said after the tournament. "You just have to stay strong and make sure that you learn from your losses so that you can move forward."

Defense was the key to the ensuing six-game win streak as Winchester allowed no more than 35 points in a game.

“My thing is defense and rebounding never take a night off, and the kids have really bought into that,” Cacciapuoti said.

 Winchester eventually made the playoffs as a No. 9 seed and dominated No. 8 in the first round. The Sachems next opponent was top-seed , a Middlesex League rival who had beaten Winchester twice by a combined 64 points earlier in the year.

Behind 22 points from Santini, the Sachems gave their best effort — they even led after the third quarter — but Reading took control in the end and won 49-35.

"I couldn’t ask anymore of my kids," Cacciapuoti said. "They played hard, they put pressure on the ball, they played with energy; they were great.”

Santini, who is headed to Southern New Hampshire, set the all-time girls scoring record with 739 career points. The Sachems also improved each of the last four seasons — missing the playoffs three years ago, getting to .500 two years ago, and posting a winning record last year, and finally winning a playoff game this year.
Cacciapuoti is excited for the future as well.

"The freshmen and sophomores, against the better competition in the league, they didn't back down, they didn't play scared," he said. "That was really exciting for me."

Boys basketball: The boys team pulled the biggest playoff upset of any Winchester winter sports team, upsetting top seed Wilmington 72-61 in the Division 2 North tournament before losing in the next round.

The team was coming off a 5-15 season that featured six losses by three points or less, so it was a great omen that the Sachems won this year's 52-51 in overtime. Ryan Murphy's field goal provided Winchester's only points in the extra session.

The team still struggled in close games — for instance, it by scores of 57-54 and 58-54 — but it made up for it with some lopsided wins and qualified for the postseason with a 10-10 record.

As the No. 16 seed, Winchester hosted first. Caleb Unni (23 points) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds left while center Pete Miller (16 rebounds, nine blocks) was dominant inside as the Sachems won 50-47.

Miller continued his strong play with 24 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks as Winchester next upset

"It's a luxury to have a kid that tall on both ends of the court," coach Quinton Dale said of the 6-foot-9, 210-pound junior.

Miller followed that up with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in the quarterfinals against Brighton, but this time it wasn't enough.

Despite coming back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to take the lead, the Sachems lost another close one, 64-61.