SPRINGFIELD — The Longmeadow girls’ basketball team held two significant physical advantages against Watertown on Saturday, one large and one small. The advantages led to a 36-31 Longmeadow win and the Division 2 state championship.
The large advantage was a player, 6-foot-3-inch sophomore forward Kayla Mokwuah, who had a game-high 13 points and nine rebounds and was a defensive force under the basket. Each of her six blocks lit up the Longmeadow student section — a couple of hundred kids strong — and bench.
That highlighted the small advantage: the distance between Springfield College’s Blake Arena, the site of the Lancers’ celebration, and Longmeadow High. The buildings are a 15-minute drive. That’s a lot easier than the hour-and-a-half, toll-laden trek from Watertown High, and the size of the respective student crowds reflected that.
“We don’t usually have a student section, but today we did,’’ said Mokwuah. “I know they love when I block. So I just tried to hit it as hard as I can.’’
Added Watertown senior Katelyn Rourke: “We knew she was going to get some blocks. I mean, she’s 6-3. So she’s going to get some things up.’’
Mokwuah, who already has garnered Division 1 interest just halfway through her high school career, was a central part of Watertown coach Pat Ferdinand’s scouting report in the days leading up to the title game.
“We thought we could attack her and she would play the shot block,’’ Ferdinand said. “We thought with more pump fakes on the perimeter she would up-fake and leave [her feet]. We never really got to that point.’’
Watertown, for a time, found success anyway. The Raiders went on a 13-0 run that started in the second quarter and lasted deep into the third quarter, their lead getting as high as 8 points.
Then Watertown (21-4) went cold and Longmeadow (23-1) took over, finishing the game on a 15-2 run that included outscoring the Raiders by 9 points in the fourth quarter. Watertown’s lone basket didn’t come until the final 10 seconds.
On the whole, Watertown’s offense was well-rounded. Rourke scored a team-high 9 points, and senior Michaela Antonellis and junior Shannon Murphy added 8 apiece. Longmeadow’s Olivia Shapiro chipped in 11 points.
For the Watertown girls, the season ended in tears, and second place isn’t much of a consolation in the immediate aftermath, but this was their first trip to the state title game. And that counts for something.
“It’s good to leave a legacy,’’ said Rourke.
