Needham Girls Basketball Gets Revenge Over Walpole

February 12, 2025
• Needham clinched their ticket to the playoffs with the win.

Thanks to a strong second half performance, Needham girls basketball pulled off an impressive comeback victory against Walpole, defeating the Timberwolves 58-54 on Tuesday night.

The win avenged an early season loss to the Timberwolves, when the Rockets were held to a season low 27 points in a 34-27 defeat. It also marked Needham’s 10th win of the season and guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs. 

Down nine in the third quarter, the Rockets went on a 12-3 run to tie the game heading into the fourth. Needham did not take its first lead until 3:45 remained in the final quarter, but their tenacious defense, which forced over 25 turnovers, kept them within striking distance throughout the game and allowed them to eventually overcome Walpole’s lead.

From the tip-off, it seemed that the Timberwolves would be in control all game. Walpole jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Callie McCarthy got Needham on the board three minutes into the first quarter. Walpole dominated the glass, out rebounding Needham 8-3, while juniors Tori Adams and Bella Bingham combined for nine of their 11 first quarter points. The Rockets were trailing by four entering the 2nd quarter. The 2nd quarter went back and forth, but Walpole maintained their lead, going into halftime up 26-22. Hannah Levine led the Rockets in the quarter with six points, while the defense remained active, forcing eight turnovers and disrupting Walpole’s offense to keep the game close.

Needham struggled from behind the arc in the first half, shooting just 3-of-13 (23%), but found their rhythm in the third, hitting 3-of-6 (50%) three point attempts.

Walpole extended their lead to nine early in the third, but Needham responded, closing the quarter on a 12-3 run to the game at 42. Levine added another eight points in the frame, while Annie Camozzi found her groove offensively, scoring five. The Rockets scored 20 points in the quarter, their highest of the night. After three and a half minutes of scoreless action in the fourth, Camozzi hit a floater to give Needham its first lead of the night. From there, the Rockets’ defense took over, shutting down Walpole’s offense and forcing 11 turnovers in the quarter. Levine and Camozzi knocked down critical free throws down the stretch to seal the game for Needham, while the defense held Bingham scoreless in the fourth. 

Levine had a career night, recording 27 points, three rebounds and two steals. Camozzi added 13 points and four steals, and Eva Andrews dominated the glass for the Rockets with 11 rebounds. Adams and Bingham led Walpole with 19 and 16 points respectively, making up over 64% of the Timberwolves offense. 

With the win, Needham improves to 10-7 on the season with three games left to play before the playoffs. 

Mike Levin has highlights from this game, plus the girls hockey win over Walpole, in the video box below:

The highlights above ran as part of the Needham Channel News, a weekly newscast airing on The Needham Channel every Thursday at 7:30pm. The Needham Channel News can be found on the Community Channel: Comcast 9, Astound 15 and Verizon 29. Most Thursdays it also can be viewed on our HD Channel on Verizon 2129, Astound 613 and streaming on this site.