And not to be overshadowed by all the hooping, Aiden Barker stopped by the Reggie Lewis Center for the MSTCA Division 1 state relays, where the St. John’s Prep won the boys crown and the Newton North girls ran away with the girls title.
And before we dive into tonight’s takeaways, visit our Wednesday roundups: Boys’ basketball | Girls’ basketball | Boys’ hockey | Girls’ hockey | Scoreboard
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Burlington senior captain Savannah Scali gets her 1,000th on a driving layup. She’s the second player in program history to reach the mark, and was on the court as a sophomore when Aylvia Pena reached the mark in 2023.
Scali entered the game needing 4 points to reach the milestone and did so on a breakaway layup in the first half. After finishing with 17 in a 37-36 win over Wilmington, she is now 2 points behind Pena’s program record of 1,015.
With a 75-29 victory over Ashland, Dover-Sherborn coach Rick Grady won his 200th game. Grady, who led the Raiders to the 2019 Division 3 state championship, took over before the 2007-08 season as the program’s third coach after spending two seasons as an assistant under Chris DuBose, who was there for nearly 30 years.
“Our parents were very nice to recognize the 200th win, but it’s really the work of some great assistant coaches and players over the years,” Grady said.
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Varsity boys basketball DS 75@ClockerAD 29 Ryan Frigiani with 17, Thomas Churney with 14, Giulian Mariano with 10 to lead DS. Coach Grady with his 200th win! Congratulations to @DSRaiderHoops on an incredibly impressive career. We are lucky to have you as our coach! pic.twitter.com/1qKEAunaKt
The most interesting stat line of the night came from Seekonk junior Sienna Miranda, who recorded an unusual triple-double of 11 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 steals, adding 6 assists in a 37-21 win over Case.
The top scorer of the night was Norton senior Ethan Rodriguez, who exploded for 39 points and the Lancers needed every single one of them in a 66-65 road win over Blue Hills. Also hitting the 30-point mark were Norwood’s Alex Yukhymchak (31 in a 78-72 loss to Medfield), Franklin’s Caden Sullivan (30 in a 66-56 win over Milford), and St. Mary’s freshman Jake Fortier, who notched 30 points to help the Spartans (11-0) stay undefeated with a 72-56 win over Cathedral.
Peabody’s Ally Bettencourt controlled the boards with 15 rebounds (and 17 points) in a 66-22 win over Beverly, Apponeque’st CeCe Levrault nabbed nine steals in a 52-27 win over Somerset Berkley, and Foxborough’s Kailey Sullivan notched seven steals in a 64-36 win over Mansfield. Bishop Feehan’s Maddy Stell got hot from deep, hitting seven 3-pointers to finish with 25 points in a 75-63 win over Archbishop Williams.
Shifting to the ice, King Philip goalie Kiki Lynch made a remarkable 44 saves as the No. 19 Warriors beat Medfield, 2-1. Not far behind was Attleboro sophomore Jake Westwater, who made 37 saves to shut out North Attleborough, 1-0, marking the Bombardiers’ first win over their northern rival since 2010. Bedford’s Jake McGrath had a hat trick in a 9-1 win over Lowell and Somerset Berkly’s Nate Manosh turned away 25 shots to record his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over ORR/Fairhaven.
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On Thursday, Greta Hammer became the first Gatorade Massachusetts Girls’ Cross-Country Player of the Year to be chosen from Needham.
The junior won the Division 1A meet in 18:13.91, finishing 43 seconds ahead of her closest competitor. She went on to win the Meet of Champions by 14 seconds while setting the course record, take second at the Nike Cross Northeast Regional, and finish 25th at the Nike Cross nationals. She set a personal-best time of 17:31.97 while winning the Bay State Conference championship.
Needham’s Greta Hammer won the Meet of Champions by a commanding distance with a record time.Taylor Coester for The Boston Globe
“There’s no question in my mind that Greta Hammer was the most impressive athlete in the state this season,” said Newton North coach Joanna Mantel. “Speaking as a program that sees her multiple times throughout the season, she continually impressed me with her clear dominance on both fast, rolling courses as well as the toughest course in the state at Northfield Mountain.”
Hammer maintains a 3.94 GPA, volunteers as a member of School the World, and serves as a member of Needham’s Environmental and German clubs.
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In case you missed any of them, here’s what we’ve written recently:
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
Up the road from Gillette Stadium, a town neighboring Foxboro is pressing for funding to meet public safety demands arising from the World Cup, with the first match just over a month away.
Walpole’s state delegation has written a letter to the state Office of Travel and Tourism requesting approval of the town’s request for nearly $200,000 to support “essential public safety personnel,” as officials expect “significant spillover impacts” from the premier soccer tournament.
As the Walpole/Foxboro town line on Route 1 is a handful of miles north of Gillette Stadium, officials are expecting increased traffic congestion and pedestrian activity to amount to “heightened public safety demands.”
“As outlined in the Town’s proposal,” the state delegation wrote in the letter it sent to the state last week, “Walpole will play a critical role in ensuring safe and efficient operations for both residents and visitors.”
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“This funding will help close a critical gap and ensure that Walpole can safely support this internationally significant event,” the delegation added.
The state Office of Travel and Tourism confirmed to the Herald that it received the letter from state Reps. John H. Rogers, Paul McMurtry, Ted Philips and Marcus Vaughn and Sen. Mike Rush. The office said it will announce decisions in the coming weeks about round two of the $2 million grant program that supports municipal public safety needs tied to the World Cup.
The first round of the program, a $10 million competitive initiative, awarded funding earlier this year to 17 communities to support tournament-related events, including fan festivals, watch parties and regional activations.
This comes after the Foxboro Select Board battled the Boston Soccer 2026 nonprofit host committee and Kraft Sports & Entertainment, which operates Gillette Stadium, for months to ensure it received full funding to cover all security personnel and equipment.
In mid-March, the David vs. Goliath fight concluded, with Boston Soccer 2026 and the Krafts agreeing to cover Foxboro’s $7.8 million request.
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Gillette, which will be rebranded as “Boston Stadium,” is set to host seven matches – five in the group stage and two knockout games – between June 13 and July 9. The World Cup is considered a SEAR 1 event, the highest risk level for public gatherings in the country.
“These matches will bring an excitement that this town has never seen,” Foxboro Police Chief Michael Grace said before the Select Board voted to grant an entertainment license for the matches to go on.
Gillette Stadium. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
No other city in the country boasts more championships than Boston, giving Massachusetts a sporting pedigree unlike any other.
What’s unique about many of the state is that several of the stars from those championship-winning teams were Massachusetts natives.
Before they were winning the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, World Series or a gold medal, those athletes were high school standouts.
Which high schools in Massachusetts are considered the best for athletes today?
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According to a study conducted by Niche, which accounts for survey feedback from students and parents—accounting for “reviews of athletics, number of state championships, student participation in athletics, and the number of sports offered at the school”—and data from the U.S. Department of Education, these are the top 25.
BOSTON (WHDH) – It was a powerful moment on Friday during the annual Law-Enforcement Memorial Ceremony at the State House, as the ceremony remembered those lost in the line of duty, including State Trooper Kevin Trainor.
Trainor was killed in a wrong-way crash this week. Trainor’s family was in attendance.
“We’re here today with the Trainor family as another tragedy and agonizing time in policing has found us,” Larry Calderone, Boston Police Union President, said.
The day brought a moment to pause and remember the 30-year-old who is being hailed a hero after he was struck and killed Wednesday morning on Route 1 in Lynnfield.
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“We’ve lost a brother,” Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said.
The fallen trooper’s fiancée spoke out for the first time since losing the love of her life. She posted to social media, “I am beyond proud of the amount of love you have been given by those who loved and cared about you shows us who you really were, a friend, a partner, a brother, a son, and a hero. You weren’t just a hero to me but a hero to all.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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