by John Osborn ·
Friday, February 13, 2026
Saya Dion (#21) takes the ball up court as Caroline Balsis follows in a game against Tahanto, Feb. 6. (Photos by Hannah Taylor)
The New England Patriots weren’t the only team undone by an unforgiving defense this past week. In a game played at home against the Tahanto Stags, the Bromfield girls basketball team faced a stifling rival of their own, losing their matchup 71-26.
The Trojans were first to put points on the board and led for the first five minutes of the game. But after switching to a full-court press, the Stags shut down Bromfield’s offense and never looked back. At the end of the first quarter, Tahanto led 14-8.
Audrey Burek (#12) pops off a shot.
Tahanto’s defensive play made all the difference. Bromfield averaged only 5 points per quarter against Tahanto’s 18 points per period. A 30-3 run by the Stags in the third quarter left Bromfield trailing 17-54. Bromfield’s best quarter was its last, outscoring Tahanto 9-7 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers and a layup by sophomore forward Saya Dion.
Dion and sophomore Audrey Burek were Bromfield’s top scorers, with 8 points apiece. Sophomore Caroline Balsis contributed five successful free throws to the team total, and senior co-captain Lyla Kendrick and sophomore Rowan Moran each added a point. Kendrick, Bromfield’s power forward, was injured in a second-quarter fall and spent the second half on the sidelines.
Top scorers for Tahanto were freshman Addison Wetherell with 19 points and sophomore Avery Gendron with 17. Bromfield Coach Brian McCullough praised his players for battling until the end. “It was Tahanto’s night,” he said.
The game drew a crowd from both Tahanto and Harvard. Four-color posters with the names and photos of Bromfield’s five senior players—Margaux Hunt, Kendrick, Megha Nookla, Samantha Prouty, and Hanna Wicks—hung at the far end of the gym. During the playing of the National Anthem, the sound system suddenly shut down, leaving the final verse—“O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave”—to fans, referees, and players, their voices slowly rising to fill the silence.
With an 8-8 season record and a power ranking of 50, the girls had to win at least one of their two remaining games to qualify for a spot in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 4 playoffs. On Tuesday night, Feb. 10, the girls squeaked past West Boylston 42-40 and were set to play one last game Feb. 13 against Oxford.