January 9, 2025

Excerpts from the hockomocksports.com article. Click to read the full article.

Midway through the third quarter, North Attleboro senior Maryellen Charette hit a tough, left-handed hook shot on the baseline to put the Rocketeers up 28-24 on Mansfield in Thursday night’s Davenport division matchup at the Albertini Gym.

Those would be the last points that North would score in the third. Mansfield closed the quarter on a 12-0 run, North opened the fourth with a three, and the Hornets rolled off another 15 straight. It was a rough shooting start, but the hosts buried six threes in the second half, including four of them in the final quarter.

North coach Ashley Kepaa feels like her young team is playing well and is on the verge of getting the results to show for it. “A ton to build on. That first half was really good for them. If we can frame that and look at it and understand that we’re in a much better place, they’re growing, and it’s measurable. We’re coming off a really good game against Franklin, then being able to build on it is huge.”

Defense was the theme throughout the night and both offenses struggled early on to find clean looks and get into any sort of rhythm.

Freshman Jordan Egan (nine points, eight rebounds, four steals, and two blocks) got into the paint and scored and Ava Pratt sliced through the Hornets defense for a basket to make it a one-point game after a quarter of play.

North’s defense continued to prevent Mansfield from getting into the paint and held the Hornets to just eight points in the second. Gracyn Cuzzi put North in front with a three from the wing and Egan turned a steal into a transition basket. Sam Sweeney hit a tough baseline leaner to send North into the locker room with a 20-19 lead.

In the third quarter, North turned to Charette (10 points and seven rebounds) to keep things moving offensively. She scored all eight of the team’s points in the third, twice scoring in the paint and then hitting the hook on the baseline. North led by four points and the home crowd was starting to get nervous. Sweeney got free for a three to start the final quarter and bring North back within five but the Hornets went on another big run to finally pull away.

“With being a super young team, it’s a discipline thing,” Kepaa explained. “Figuring out what the next pass is supposed to be and not panicking and having that patience and that veteran attitude and not letting that mistake build and then become a problem for the next turnover and the next turnover.”

North Attleboro (3-5) is in the midst of a difficult stretch of games and will travel to King Philip on Tuesday night.