Last season, Braintree made it to the Final Four for the first time since the program won the state title in 2019.
After going 10-10 in her first season leading the program, Braintree head coach Kelley Macdonald did not expect her team to make such a deep run.
“I would say it was a little bit of leapfrog for us to go that far,” she said. “But getting Braintree back to where they should be, one of the powerhouses in D1, is the goal you have. I didn’t think it was going to happen in the second year of my head coaching career.”
There is a big hole at center Braintree will need to account for. Center Francesca Spadorcia, the Herget Division MVP, averaged over 14 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks a game. Opponents entered the paint at their own risk.
Without that same interior presence, the Wamps are going have to rely more on their guards this season.
Leading that charge will be senior Francesca “Frankie” Mazzini and Eva Downing. Macdonald calls Mazzini, a reigning Conference All-Star, one of the best defensive guards in the state. Meanwhile, the third-year coach hopes Downing can take another step forward in the scoring department.
“She definitely made a leap halfway through the season last year. She was probably, in the second half of the season, one of our top scorers,” Macdonald said. “I’m thinking if she starts the season off the way she ended the season last year, that she’ll be a major scorer for us.”
In the semifinal loss to Wachusett, the junior led the Wamps with 11 points.
Fellow junior, Izzy Rotondo, moves from the forward into Spadorcia’s spot at center. She will be the anchor for a defense that looks to be more aggressive.
“We would play a nice half court man-to-man defense. We were really good at that, but we’re going to be more suffocating,” MacDonald said. “We have to cause more turnovers. We got to create more offense for ourselves by making turnovers and steals.”
