Previous Rankings: Preseason, Dec. 19, Jan. 8, Jan. 15, Jan. 23, Jan. 29
Four point loss to Natick. One point losses to Brookline and Milton. Three point loss to Braintree.
It couldn’t have been an unluckier stretch for the Newton North Tigers. Through 10 games, the Tigers sat 3-7, riding a five-game losing streak.
Then on Jan. 15, the team won big over Peabody, 61-34. That blowout sparked a turnaround for Newton North, who has won four of its last five games.
The Tigers finally picked up a win over the top half of the league after a 67-63 win over Natick Tuesday evening. Before the win, the Tigers were ranked 20th on the MIAA’s latest D-I Power Rankings, a number that should likely take a jump after beating the RedHawks.
Here are this week’s Bay State Conference rankings (record and previous ranking in parentheses):
- Needham (12-3, No. 1)
- Natick (12-4, No. 2)
- Walpole (12-3, No. 3)
- Braintree (11-4, No. 4)
- Milton (9-8, No. 5)
- Newton North (7-8, No. 7)
- Brookline (7-7, No. 6)
- Wellesley (3-11, No. 8)
- Weymouth (1-13, No. 9)
- Framingham (1-14, No. 10)
Coming into the season, all the attention was pointed toward the Tigers’ Allie Danis, who was named as a Bay State Conference Honorable Mention.
During Newton North’s three-game win-streak, the team has gotten contributions across the roster.
While Danis is averaging 18 points a game during the streak, it was fellow senior Nikki Rao who led the Tigers with 27 points against Natick. Nina Bakal posted 14 and 10 points in the teams latest two wins as well.
The Tigers look to to hit .500 this Friday when they host Brookline.
After a last minute floater from Bella Bingham secured Walpole’s second win over the Wamps this season last Friday. The Timberwolves scored 44 points in the game, its second lowest total of the season, but showed they can win through their defense.
After hosting Weymouth this Sunday, Walpole has back-to-back games against Needham and Natick, currently the top two teams in the conference.
