February 10, 2022- Story and photos by Joshua Ross
The Harborwomen were back on home court in what seemed like months to take on Silver Lake as Hingham celebrated their eight seniors. Still not totally back to normal rules and in the first year of a new coach at the helm, expectations weren’t as high on this team as in years past. But this team has held their own through some injuries and adversity and are back in the state tournament once again.
If Tuesday’s night game is any barometer of how this team will fair going forward, they should be in good shape. They battled not only the emotions of senior night and the physicality of the Lakers, they overcame blowing a double digit first half lead and pulled away in the fourth quarter to get the win.
The one constant this year, in fact over the past ten years, is that a Blasetti is leading the team and stepping up when the team needs it the most. Senior captain Perry Blasetti is the last of four Blasetti sisters to play for the Harborwomen over the past decade. Like her sisters before her, she is the number one target for most teams and Tuesday’s game was no different. Through some pretty hard fouls as well as double and triple teams, she still managed to lead all scoring with 22 points. With her team only up by six going into the fourth quarter, she absolutely took over and scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers and went 4/5 at the line.
The most memorable moment for Blasetti, however, was when she was subbed out for team manager Elizabeth Murphy. The senior, who has been on the sidelines for the past three years and is also a member of Hingham’s Unified Basketball team, made her varsity debut with 90 seconds left in the game. And while her stat line wasn’t as impressive as her captain’s was, the ovation and cheers she got was the biggest of the season.
Hingham’s defense also stood out. In previous game this season, they seemed to have run out of gas towards the end of games. Whitman-Hanson comes to mind. But in this game, their defense peaked in the final frame. The saying goes that good defense creates good offense and that was clearly the case on Tuesday. Great team defense turned into great offensive opportunities, which led to a convincing 66-35 win on senior night.
“This is one of the first times we’ve had a full squad since January,” coach Roland Millien told the Anchor after the game. “I think all of them being together, and finally all of them finally actually being able to play together, had them so exited and so amped in playing this game that no matter who came in the game, everyone produced.”
With the added excitement and adrenalin in the building, it would have been easy for the girls to respond adversely to the some of the physical play, but Millien is impressed with how his team responded.
“This was the best I’ve seem them handle physicality,” he said. “Whenever the girls pressured them a little bit, got physical with them, they got physical back. I want to coach a team that does not back down and they did not back down. Not by any means or stretch. They did not back down.”
As the seniors were celebrated with their families after the game, their coached reflected on what they meant to him and the team this year.
“I will say this, anybody who’s an underclassmen has some big shoes to fill,” Millien said. “Because the way they have led by example, not just by their voice, but by example, you can’t even measure it. Anytime someone is having trouble with a play, they are the first ones to go over there and talk to them and try to guide them through that. When people are having a rough game, they are the first person to pat them on the back. That’s what leaders do and that’s what they’ve done all year long.”
Blasetti echoed her coach’s comments and felt the energy in the building and the emotions of the night.
“I can speak for all the seniors, it’s very special, especially at the end when we got our manager involved,” Blasetti said after the game. “I think we came together a lot more and represented our program and showed what we are all about.”
She also returns the complements to her coach when asked about the overall sense on how the year has gone so far.
“Honestly, we all thought it would be a tough adjustment, but coach made it a really easy, smooth adjustment for us,” reflects Blasetti. “We’ve definitely worked on pushing the ball, pushing the tempo a lot more and that’s just the team that we are now, a fast paced team.”
And as not only her time on the team ends, but the legacy of the entire Blasetti family comes to close, she couldn’t be more proud of her second family.
“It’s awesome,” she said of her time playing with her fellow teammates. “I love them. They are like my other siblings. We all care for each other so much. We’d do anything for each other.”
Game Photos
