Girls Basketball Remains Undefeated, Girls Hockey Continues to Struggle

• Needham girls basketball improved to 7-0 this week, while girls hockey fell to 1-5. 

Just over a week into 2026, Needham girls basketball remains unbeaten under new head coach Lindsay Miller. Girls hockey, also led by a new head coach this season, has struggled after winning its season opener.

On Monday, Jan. 5, girls basketball overcame a slow start and squeaked out a 45-43 victory over Pembroke at home.

Both teams struggled in the first quarter, turning the ball over multiple times. Pembroke eventually found its groove, outscoring Needham 9-2 in the final three minutes of the quarter. The Rockets converted only two field goals, and went into the second quarter down 13-4. Needham got its offense rolling out of the break, pulling within five points with 5:27 left in the half. Senior Eva Andrews tied the game at 18 before halftime, leading the Rockets in scoring with 15 total points in the game.

Needham continued to roll in the third quarter, taking a 34-27 lead. The Rockets outscored the Titans by 16 in the second and third quarters combined. But, they slowed down in the fourth, and Pembroke took advantage. After hitting back-to-back three-pointers, the Titans trailed by just one, with over six minutes to play. Needham pushed its lead back to seven with 2:26 remaining, but only added one more point in that stretch. Pembroke got as close as two, 45-43, but the Rockets held on to stay undefeated.

Andrews led the team in scoring with 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks. Senior Hannah Levine followed with 11 points and eight rebounds.

The following day, the girls defeated Newton North 64-32, improving to 7-0. On Friday, Jan. 9, the MIAA released their first power rankings of the season, ranking Needham fourth in Division One. The Rockets will go on the road for their next three games, facing Wellesley, Milton and Bishop Feehan.

After defeating Weymouth 3-2 in overtime in its season opener, girls hockey has lost five straight games, including a 2-1 loss to Newton North this week.

Willa Hanson gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with 5:40 left in the first period with a long goal from the right side that ricocheted off the post and in behind Needham goalie Jackie Lancaster. The Rockets responded well in the second period, putting plenty of shots on goal, but Newton North goalie Ellery Hanson was a brick wall, denying every shot. After back-and-forth play, the Tigers extended their lead to  2-0 lead with 8:09 left in the third, courtesy of sophomore Malin Vardeh. Senior Megan Sgroi found the back of the net for Needham with 1:47 remaining, assisted by Bella D’Amelio and Olivia Leschinski, but there was not enough time for the Rockets to find an equalizer.

D’Amelio leads the team in scoring with four goals so far this season, while Sgroi is close behind at three.

The Rockets will look to get back on track on Saturday, Jan. 10, when they head to Wellesley.

You can watch the highlights from these games 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.