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GIRLS’ BASKETBALL | wellesley 57, NATICK 52

Annie Ward propels Wellesley past Natick

NATICK — Annie Ward made her impact in overtime. With a corner 3-pointer in front of her bench and a crucial offensive rebound in the waning seconds, the Wellesley senior forward propelled the No. 9 Raiders to a 57-52 overtime win Friday over Natick.

Each team took the lead in overtime, but Ward hit her 3-pointer with just more than a minute left. Natick only mustered a free throw on their next two possessions before Ward secured an offensive rebound with 11.1 seconds left and hit both free throws to seal the game.

“I think getting the momentum from the 3 kept me going,” Ward said. “It’s the best feeling knowing that I’m the underdog in that situation and came out on top.”

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Wellesley took a 51-45 win when the sides first met Jan. 18 at Wellesley. This time on the road, Wellesley (15-3) clinched the Bay State Herget Division title.

“It’s really nice to see when we can get complementary basketball like that,” Wellesley coach Glen Magpiong said. “Teams are going to focus on our two main scorers, Brooke [Guiffre] and Gianna [Palli], which means they’re forcing the other 11 girls to beat them.”

Guiffre dominated the first half with 16 of her 24 points. Wellesley’s senior guard canned a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, and added seven more points in the second to help the Raiders to a narrow 23-21 halftime lead.

Brenna McDonald turned in a dominant performance for No. 6 Natick (14-3). The 6-foot-2-inch junior forward had 16 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocks, and 4 assists.

“Brenna wanted this game, you could see that she wanted this game badly,” Natick coach Dan Hinnenkamp said. “She was going after the basketball, she was ripping rebounds away and you could see she was playing with heart.”

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Natick took a 7-point advantage into the fourth, but Wellesley stayed close. Senior Molly Cronin hit a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound with 28.1 seconds left to tie it at 49. It was her only basket of the game. Wellesley forced overtime on a defensive stop on Natick’s next possession.

Ward took over in the extra period with her clutch play, fouling out McDonald on her offensive rebound.

“That was the best feeling in the world when she knocked down that shot,” Guiffre said of Ward’s 3-pointer. “We’re all so happy for our teammates when plays like that happen.”


Greg Levinsky can be reached at greg.levinsky@globe.com.