by John Osborn ·
Friday, January 23, 2026
Blocked by a West Boylston opponent, Lyla Kendrick (#32) looks for an opening to pass the ball to her Bromfield teammates, Saya Dion (#21) and Caroline Balsis (#23). (Photos by Hannah Taylor)
Led by sophomore Audrey Burek, the Bromfield varsity girls basketball team beat the West Boylston’s Lions 54-41 at home last Friday, Jan. 16, a win that improved the team’s season record to 5-6 and advanced it to third place in the Midland-Wachusett D League.
Burek was her team’s top scorer, putting 25 points on the scoreboard in her four quarters of nonstop play. Second was sophomore Saya Dion who contributed 12 points, followed by sophomore Caroline Balsis with 9, and senior co-captain Lyla Kendrick with 4. Senior co-captain Hanna Wicks and sophomore Ella Hill had 2 points apiece.
Bromfield seized an early lead, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Dion, back-to-back layups by Burek, and a pair of free throws by senior co-captain Hanna Wicks. The Lions were plagued by missed shots and turnovers, and when the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter, Bromfield led 12-7.
West Boylston’s 7 first-quarter points were entirely the work of West Boylston senior co-captain Emily Pitro, one of the league’s top scorers, and in the second quarter, she led a 16-9 run against Bromfield with a string of layups, free throws, and a 3-pointer. Given the ball, Pitro seemingly couldn’t miss, and at the end of the first half, Bromfield trailed 23-21.
Saya Dion (#21) leaps to take a shot at the basket, but the ball is intercepted by a West Boylston opponent. Bromfield teammate Hanna Wicks (#20) stands by ready.
The second half was a different story. Bromfield’s defenders focused on shutting down Pitro, who scored only twice in the remaining two quarters, dropping from 23 points in the first half to 6 in the second. “Basically, as soon as [Pitro] got the ball, we were on her,” senior co-captain Lyla Kendrick said after the game. Meanwhile, an 11-3 run by Burek and Dion in the final moments of the third quarter returned Bromfield to the lead, 38-36. In the final quarter, sophomore Caroline Balsis, Burek, and power forward Kendrick led a 13-5 attack that sealed Bromfield’s 54-41 victory.
“We saw every little mistake we did in the first half, and we corrected it all to come out with the win,” said Kendrick. “I think that’s what makes us a great team. We see what we do wrong and we correct it.”
“They did it themselves,” said Coach Brian McCullough. “They said, ‘We’re better than this. Let’s pick it up.’ They said, ‘We’re taking the challenge head on.’ It was incredible. The [full court] press was looking great. They really dug in.”
On Tuesday this week, Jan. 20, the girls lost 80-30 at home to nonleague opponent Hudson. The team’s next three games are away. They are scheduled to meet West Boylston once again in an away game on Feb. 1, the final league game of the season.