HOPEDALE, Mass. – The Lee girls basketball team Saturday overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to earn a 44-41 win over top-seeded Hopedale in the Division 5 State Tournament Quarter-Finals.

 

No. 9 Lee earned its second road win in the tourney and advances to this week’s Final Four, where it will meet No. 5 Renaissance on a day and at a location to be announced.

 

Giana Carlino scored 14 points, and Mia Puleri scored 13 – all at the free throw line – as Lee improved to 16-7.

 

“I just can’t say enough about the heart of these kids and how hard they battle,” Lee coach Rick Puleri said. “After falling down by 13 points midway through the second half, we switched to full-court man and created a few turnovers and, finally, started to put some shots in.”

 

Carlino hit a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers, and Puleri went 11-for-14 at the foul line in the final eight minutes.

 

“I guess she didn’t want her career to end,” Rick Puleri said of the senior.

 

Mika Diller scored five, Kenzie Garrity added four, and eight different Wildcats made a mark in the scorebook.

 

“Again, a total team effort all the way around,” Puleri said. “Everyone on this team understands their role and tries to contribute.”