Massachusetts
Seven takeaways from Friday’s high school basketball quarterfinals, including another Feehan thriller – The Boston Globe
There was no doubt which of Friday’s 24 MIAA basketball tournament quarterfinals served as the game of the night, as the Shamrocks rode their post prince’s 36 points and 18 rebounds to a 65-60 double-overtime win over No. 6 Bridgewater-Raynham, despite trailing by 7 midway through the fouth quarter.
That was one of two upsets on a night that saw 23 teams punch their semifinal ticket, with another 13 slated for Saturday, alongside five hockey semifinals.
Find all of Friday’s scores here, sign up for Varsity News here, prep for New England wrestling with beat writer AJ Traub’s preview, read Bob Hohler’s latest on a Sharon football player’s catastrophic brain injury, and check out everything we wrote:
Whitman-Hanson senior Dylan Hurley got her 1,000th point out of the way early so she could focus on beating Oliver Ames in the Division 2 quarterfinals. Hurley entered Friday needing just 2 points to reach the mark, and she did so less than eight minutes into an eventual 51-47 victory.
Hurley, who is committed to Saint Anselm, finished with 17, including the tying bucket with 29 seconds left, plus two key free throws, giving her 17 points on the night and 1,015 for her career, putting her fourth in program history.
All 13 girls’ games went to chalk, but there were a pair of lower seeds winning on the boys’ side. We already covered No. 14 Bishop Feehan taking out No. 6 Bridgewater-Raynham, just two days after the Spartans eliminated No. 3 Needham. Thus far, they are the lowest-seeded team to reach the semifinals in any division across basketball and hockey, with a baker’s dozen basketball quarterfinals still to be played Saturday.
Also pulling off a quarterfinal upset was No. 6 Lynn Classical, which knocked off No. 3 Tewksbury, 68-59, in the Division 3 bracket, led by 29 points from senior DJ Reynolds and elite defense from seniors Shyheim Babb and Deshawn Rucker.
Abby Broderick, Medfield — The sophomore exploded for 31 points and five rebounds as the top-seeded Warriors took care of business against No. 8 Norwood, 66-46.
Grace Higgins, Millis — The senior wasn’t the team’s leading scorer (Ella Maher had 17) but she made her presence known in the paint, blocking eight shots to go with 9 points and nine rebounds.
Jimmy Farrell, Masconomet — The senior captain chipped in everywhere, spreading out his impact with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a 61-25 win over Burlington in Division 1.
Brody Bumila, Bishop Fehan — Where to start? The 6-foot-9-inch senior was absolutely dominant in a 65-60 two-overtime upset of Bridgewater-Raynham, scoring 18 of his team’s 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to finish with 36 points and 18 rebounds. Committed to play baseball at Texas, Bumila has 117 points and 55 rebounds over three playoff games, which have featured six overtime periods and two Shamrocks wins.
4. Hockey semifinal brackets breakdown
Six observations as we enter the MIAA boys’ and girls’ hockey semifinals Saturday and Sunday. Find the full schedule here.
- The lowest seeds remaining are No. 9 St. Bernard’s in Division 4 boys and No. 9 Medfield in D2 girls. No double-digit seeds made it out of the quarterfinals.
- Only one of the top five seeds made the Division 1 boys’ final foursome, which is a 50-50 split between public (No. 4 Arlington, No. 6 Hingham) and private schools (No. 7 Pope Francis, No. 8 St. John’s).
- The other three boys’ divisions feature 11 public schools and one private: St. Bernard’s, bringing the boys’ total to 13 publics and three privates.
- The final eight girls’ teams include three privates, all in D1 (No. 1 Notre Dame-Hingham, No. 2 St. Mary’s, No. 5 Archbishop Williams) and five publics.
- Of the 24 remaining teams, 18 are public and six are private.
- Of the six divisions, only three No. 1 seeds reached the semifinals, with Catholic Memorial (D1 boys), Stoneham (D4 boys), and Westwood (D2 girls) getting eliminated. Yet five of the six No. 2 seeds are still dancing (the exception, Xaverian in D1 boys)
Milton Academy senior wide receiver Kash Kelly, who hails form Northampton, announced he will play football at Amherst. The 5-foot-11-inch, 180-pounder averaged 21 yards per catch
Blessed and grateful to announce my commitment to the admissions process at Amherst College. First, I want to thank God for blessing me with this opportunity. Thank you to my family, coaches, and teammates who helped me along the way. #GoMammoths🦣 pic.twitter.com/6inyu0hUae
— Kash Kelly (@Kash13Kelly) March 6, 2026
▪ Southern California sophomore Ellie Thomas, a Needham graduate, was selected as Big 10 Defensive Player of the Week for women’s lacrosse. She went wire-to-wire in the cage, producing a career-high 16 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter, during a 16-14 road win at Arizona State. She also picked up two ground balls.
▪ Northeastern freshman Xavier Abreu, a Phillips Andover graduate from Lynn who was the 2025 A Shot for Life Challenge champion, was named to the All-CAA Rookie Team. Abreu set the Northeastern freshman scoring record, averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 46 percent from the field.
▪ Brandeis senior Ragini Kannan, a Westford Academy graduate, opened her season with a five-inning no-hitter of Emmanuel for her first career no-no. She struck out four and issued one walk in a 14-0 win in Clermont, Fla.
▪ Brandeis senior Hannah Du, a Winchester graduate, make the All-Northeast Fencing Conference women’s second team for the first time. She led Brandeis with 12 wins at the NFC Meet, and finished the season with 39 victories, good for second on the team.
7. Basketball leaderboard
Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 36
Abby Broderick, Medfield, 31
Anna Freeman, Medway, 29
J’Dore Reece, Renaissance, 29
DJ Reynolds, Lynn Classical, 29
Josh Roux, Andover, 27
Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 26
Lily Denomme, Douglas, 23
Cece Levrault, Apponequet, 23
Logan Volkringer, Plymouth South, 23
Caprese Conyers, Pittsfield, 22
Addie Harrington, Frontier, 22
Ryan Nikiforow, Millbury, 21
Rolky Brea-Arias, St. Mary’s, 20
Thomas Denton, Andover, 20
Dylan Hurley, Whitman-Hanson, 20
Maliah Pierre, Whitman-Hanson, 20
Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 18
Lamar Valentina Jr., West Bridgewater, 15
Thomas Denton, Andover, 12
Tyrese Wanliss, Roxbury Prep, 12
Avery Teixeira, Bishop Feehan, 11
Tamia Darling, Cathedral, 10
Jag Garces, West Bridgewater, 10
Emma Smith, Bishop Feehan, 7
Jimmy Farrell, Andover, 3
Naya Annigeri, Medfield, 5
Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 4
Grace Higgins, Millis, 8
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Broadband Institute distributes devices to underserved communities
BOSTON (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) announced Wednesday that it is distributing 5,063 internet-enabled devices to 45 organizations across the state.
The statewide effort, administered through the Connected and Online program, aims to expand economic opportunity by increasing digital access. This program is a $31.6 million initiative funded through the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund that provides Massachusetts-based organizations with laptops, tablets, and desktop computers to help residents access the internet.
Equipment provided through the program also includes supportive items, such as braille keyboards, intended to assist vulnerable populations.
Both Gateway Cities and rural communities are supported by the Connected and Online program, as residents are provided with direct access to devices through lending programs or resources at publicly accessible locations.
“The Connected and Online program opens doors for communities to access critical services and build relationships with their neighbors,” said Governor Maura Healey. “By partnering with trusted local organizations, we’re helping more people get online, access essential services, and connect to new educational and economic opportunities.”
To date, the program has provided nearly 32,000 devices and more than 13,000 pieces of supportive equipment. These devices have been distributed to hospitals, municipalities, nonprofits, public libraries, elder and youth aid groups, and workforce training organizations across the Commonwealth.
This latest award announcement follows a prior distribution launched by MBI on April 2, which included nearly 27,000 devices to over 200 organizations across the state.
“MBI is leveraging strong relationships with local and regional organizations to deliver digital devices for Massachusetts residents,” said MBI Program Executive Jody Jones. “The Connected and Online program is a statewide effort to expand access, increase digital skills training, and, at its core, expand the ability to connect to the internet.”
For a full list of awardees, visit broadband.mass.tech.org.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WWLP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WWLP staff before being published.
Massachusetts
Editorial: Want to end poverty in Mass.? Don’t drive away wealthy
If you want to help people in poverty, don’t drive the wealthy out of state.
That might be something the state senators in the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities should keep in mind after they advanced a sweeping bill going full bore at reducing the state’s poverty rate.
Sen. Sal DiDomenico told the State House News his proposal (S 3095) “is a compilation of many bills that have already been filed.” According to his office, the bill, as originally filed, included provisions that would increase the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children cash benefits for pregnant people, families and caregivers; increase Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children cash benefits; codify related benefits and allowances; and bar the government from taking any amount of child support payments from low-income parents.
His office also said the bill would direct the state to replace Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cash benefits “stolen by criminal rings through skimming or phishing”; ensure access to free menstrual products in public schools, homeless shelters, prisons and county jails; raise farmworker wages to at least the state’s minimum wage; establish a “baby bonds program”; and “enhance” the attorney general’s ability to “ensure companies pay their employees the wages they deserve and hold employers accountable when they steal workers’ wages.”
It’s a tall order, and an impressive one. But the hurdle isn’t just getting it on the Senate’s agenda before the July 31 deadline, it’s how to pay for it.
The idea of front-loading assistance appears sound: helping people escape poverty means they won’t need to rely on social services down the line. But it will still take a sustainable revenue source to keep it all going.
And Massachusetts has been shooting itself in the foot when it comes to keeping revenue inside state borders.
According to Moneywise, Massachusetts millionaires took $4.2 billion in income out of the state in 2023, new Internal Revenue Service data revealed.
As reported by Bloomberg, that’s an 8% increase from the year before, and it comes just as the state began enforcing a new 4% surtax on incomes above $1 million. Higher-income households are now accounting for a larger share of total departures from the state. In 2023, top earners accounted for roughly 70% of total income outflow. That doubles their share from just a few years earlier.
We need to keep them, and their tax payments, here.
But that won’t happen if efforts to lower taxes are met with derision, and the notion that tax breaks only benefit the very rich. The deep-pocketed set that’s heading to tax-friendlier states are gifting their new home turf with a cumulative windfall, even if the individual tax amount is lower than the Bay State.
The same goes for companies who see better opportunities elsewhere.
The senators working on anti-poverty measures have some great ideas, and they should have a budget to implement them. Lifting people up from poverty uplifts the state.
But we can’t pay the bill if we keep driving out high-earning taxpayers. To help the poor, we must keep the rich.
Massachusetts
Marlborough Ice Cream Shop Lands On MA Ice Cream Trail
Trombetta’s Farm, at 655 Farm Rd., is listed as a Central Massachusetts stop on the Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail, a state-backed guide launched in 2024 to promote ice cream shops, farm stands, and dairy farms that use Massachusetts dairy products, according to GBH.
The trail features more than 100 destinations across Massachusetts and is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. The map includes dairy farms with ice cream stands, farms selling packaged ice cream, and shops selling Massachusetts ice cream products, according to the tourism office.
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