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The wait is over: Girls’ basketball wins first league title since 2010

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Senior captain Lauren Dunn celebrates with her teammates after cutting down the net. / Photo by: Nate Rollins

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ basketball program has secured the Patriot League Keenan Division title.

The current Whitman-Hanson Regional High girls’ basketball seniors were in kindergarten the last time the program had won a league title.

That was 12 years ago.

They ended that drought last night on senior night.

Backed by a dominant defensive effort and offensive contributions from all over the roster, the Panthers cruised past Plymouth North, 55-31, to earn their first Patriot League Keenan Division crown since 2010.

“It feels so amazing,” said senior captain Abby Martin. “I’ve never been happier in my life.”

Said senior captain Lauren Dunn: “We’ve been so close the past couple of years and we finally got it. I’m so happy.”

Senior Kristina Tsiantoulas (10 points) — in her game action back from a torn ACL — got the Panthers rolling early against Plymouth North — the defending league champion — scoring the first four points of the evening to help W-H (17-2, 14-2 Patriot League) build a 23-5 advantage after one.

Freshman Lillie MacKinnon (10 points) nailed a three right before the halftime buzzer to push the Panthers’ lead to 35-16 at the break.

That cushion swelled to 24 at the end of the third quarter and they kept their foot on the gas the rest of the game.

“They’ve wanted this,” said third-year W-H head coach Mike Costa, who owns a 41-13 record since taking the helm. “They know how close they were to getting this last year. I’m extremely proud.”

Senior Rosie MacKinnon paced the Panthers with 11 points and eight rebounds. Senior captain Meg Stone chipped in eight points and corralled six boards in the win.

“Everything we’ve done for the past three years with [coach] Costa all came together,” Stone said. 

W-H is back in action on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. when it takes on Belmont at St. Mary’s (Lynn) to open the Spartan Classic.

“This is great but we still feel like we have a long way to go,” Costa said. “We feel like we have as good a chance as anybody to compete for Division 2.”

Said all three senior captains in unison: “We’re not done yet.”

Dunn lifts girls’ basketball over Plymouth North at buzzer

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Junior Lauren Dunn’s tip in at the buzzer sends the girls’ basketball team to its fourth straight win.

It was Whitman-Hanson’s ball with nine seconds to go and the score tied at 43.

Junior Lauren Dunn knew just what she had to do.

“I was in the corner ready to crash,” she said.

And she came through. After Reese Cordero’s 3-pointer was off the mark, Dunn was there for the putback at the buzzer to lift W-H (5-2) over previously-unbeaten Plymouth North (6-1) and to its fourth straight win, 45-43, the final.

“Coach (Mike Costa) had the play all drawn up for Reese and it all just happened so fast,” Dunn said. “Reese shot it and I just had to go get it.”

“You always say when the shot goes up, a lot of people just watch the ball, especially at the end of the game,” said head coach Mike Costa. “But she snuck in there and was able to put one home.”

Not only was able able to put one home, but with 33 seconds remaining she threw the ball of a Plymouth North defender as she was falling out of bounds to give the Panthers new life.

“We wanted it bad,” Dunn said.

The Panthers trailed by as much as seven, 36-29, in the fourth quarter until junior Abigail Martin (14 points, seven rebounds) got going. Martin, who sat out most of the third quarter due to foul trouble, scored six points in the final frame, including a layup to put W-H up 43-41 before the Blue Eagles tied it at 43.

“She just brings a toughness that not many people in this league have,” Costa said of Martin. “She battles, she rebounds and she does the dirty work.”

W-H looks to keep its winning streak alive Friday at 6:30 p.m. when it hosts Marshfield.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Costa said. “We’re just focused on us and not anybody else and we’re just letting the chips fall where they may.”

Double dose of Dunn: Sister act chips in for W-H varsity field hockey

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Lauren Dunn (left) and Kathryn Dunn (right) after the first game of the season. / Courtesy photo

Sisters Lauren and Kathryn Dunn are ecstatic to be playing with each other for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High field hockey team.

Coming into tryouts, Lauren Dunn was just aiming to make the freshman field hockey team.

But her speed was too much to pass up for Whitman-Hanson Regional High field hockey coach Todd Humphrey, who selected her and two other freshmen out of 26 for the varsity team.

“During tryouts, I noticed that Lauren was quick to the ball,” Humphrey explained. “She was aggressive. She’s going to be a playmaker. I thought she worked well with Annika (Putur), so I want to continue to enrich that throughout the season.”

Dunn’s low expectations for her roster status stemmed from the fact that she just picked up the sport over the summer after a lifetime of playing soccer. 

Her sister Kathryn, a senior, made a similar move. Kathryn was the MVP of the junior varsity girls’ soccer team her sophomore season before deciding field hockey was the fall sport for her.

“Kathryn was kind of debating [joining field hockey] and talking about it,” explained Humphrey, “and I said, ‘Look, I don’t recruit. I’m here for you if you want to make that transition. If you want to come play field hockey, I’m here for you. That’s your decision.’”

So, when Kathryn found out her younger sister cracked the varsity team, a few months after talking her into playing the sport, she was ecstatic.

“I think I was more excited than she was,” Kathryn said.

EXPERIENCE

The two sisters’ only prior experience playing together has come when Lauren subbed in on Kathryn’s AAU basketball team when they need an extra player or two.

Lauren said her older sister has been an immense asset for her to have by her side as she makes the transition to high school both in the classroom and the field.

“She’s been a lot of help,” said Lauren. “She’s just there for me, always. It’s awesome.”

Humphrey said this season brings back memories of 2014, when freshman Colleen Hughes (’18) came out for the team along with her sister Caitlin (’15), who would end up being the program’s first captain since its revival that season after a 30-year hiatus.

Colleen went on to captain the team three seasons later. Caroline Woodward (’16) was a captain her senior season and then her younger sister, Tina (’18), went on to do the same her senior season.

“It’s very much a family affair, for sure,” Humphrey said. “I like it.”

In the Panthers’ first game of the season, a 1-1 tie against Scituate, Humphrey gave both Dunns the start – Kathryn at defender and Lauren at forward.

“That was awesome,” Kathryn said. “Scituate was the Fisher League champions, so it felt great to tie against them because they’re a good team.”

Said Lauren: “I was so excited to get to play with her. It was a lot of fun and we played really well, too.”

KEY FORCE

Kathryn was a key force in the middle for the Panthers that game, and Humphrey said he can’t begin to explain her importance to the team as an elder statesman.

“I’m really impressed with Kathryn,” he said. “She was working in the offseason. She was playing in the Bridgewater Dome just doing different things – putting the basketball down a little bit and playing some field hockey, so it definitely helped.”

Humphrey said Kathryn’s biggest improvement from last fall is her technique. “She’s just great at getting low and sweeping the ball,” Humphrey said. “That’s very different because last year she was very high. Now she’s very low and she’s able to drive the ball down the field.”

While Kathryn clamps down on defense, Lauren is flying down the field with the offense. In the Panthers’ 2-1 victory over Silver Lake on Thursday, Sept. 13, Lauren passed the ball to junior Victoria Ryan, who buried it home for a goal to make it 1-0.

“You’re going to see Lauren going more with the offensive flow, just very graceful and fast,” Humphrey said.

NEXT GOALS

The goal the rest of the way for the Dunns is to keep the Panthers’ winning ways going. Through five contests, W-H sits at 2-1-2, its best start since the program resurfaced four years ago.

“We’ll never get this chance again, so I’m glad we got this,” Kathryn said.