The St. Mary’s boys and girls basketball teams would appear to be headed in opposite directions.This isn’t to say that one will be terrific and the other the opposite. It just means that the Lady Spartans have great expectations while the boys will look to rebuild after losing two of the better players they’ve had in the past decade.The girls basketball team finished 18-6 last year, and went all the way to the Division 3 North semifinal before losing to Pentucket. That was the farthest advancement in a Division 3 tournament in 20 years.The Lady Spartans play in the tough Catholic Central League/Large, which is loaded with D2 teams. One of the few D3 teams – Archbishop Williams – made it to the EMass finals last year before falling to Swampscott.Still, the Lady Spartans went 7-5 in the CCL/Large, and included were two wins over another D3 South powerhouse (Cardinal Spellman) and one over Williams.They lost three seniors off that team: Alison McCarthy, Amy Bozarjian and Nicole Hanlon.On the upside, St. Mary’s returns junior captain Tori Faieta, who was a CCL all-star last year and the Spartan Classic MVP. Faieta, a center, has averaged double figures in points and rebounds in each of her three varsity seasons.Also back is Bria Tiro, senior guard and captain, who, according to coach Jeff Newhall, is an excellent offensive player in both driving to the hoop and shooting.Last year, she was second on the team in scoring and one of the top returning guards in the league.Newhall also expects big things from Cassi Amenta, a junior captain and forward, who played a lot last year in the team’s three-forward rotation, averaging eight points and eight rebounds.Also back is Kirsten Ferrari, a junior guard who came off the bench last year and expects to start this year.”She’s made great strides in her defense, ball-handling and shooting and should be a major force with us,” Newhall said.Another returnee who should see action is Molly Carey, a junior guard off the bench last year who should see more action this season, Newhall says.Newhall likes what he sees thus far from two newcomers – sophomore forward Ann-Marie Idusuyi and junior guard Erin Fahey.Filling out the roster are guards Brianna Anderson and Bria Prophete; and forwards Melissa Kennedy, Rachel Faieta and Rachel Stueve.”It’s still a tough league,” Newhall says. “Williams, Spellman, Arlington Catholic and Fenwick are very good again.”One thing Newhall believes is that a tough nonleague schedule will benefit the Lady Spartans. This year, St. Mary’s will play Cambridge twice, Division 1 state champion Central Catholic once, and Pentucket ? not to mention the Boverini Tournament in January and a possible date with Swampscott in the Spartan Classic.”Our goal remains the same, and that’s to qualify for the tournament, which, with the strength of our league and the nonleague schedule we’re playing, will be a challenge,” Newhall said.Spartan boys try to move on in ‘post-Grillo’ eraSt. Mary’s boys basketball coach Kevin Moran is faced with the task of replacing two of his more prolific scorers during his tenure: Tyler Grillo and John Bakopoulos.”They made up seven percent of our offense and our production last year,” Moran says. “Plus, Tyler was in our program for four years. After two or three years, you had a pretty good sense of him.”So, Moran says, the new year means new challenges.”But,” he says, “after a week or so, I’m pleased with where we are.”Moran hopes to take advantage of the Spartans’ youth and inexperience because “lots of times, younger kids are more aggressive and have a little more enthusiasm. They’re fighting for available playing time.”So far, Moran has named one captain: junior Ronsanto Campbell, who started with the program last season and, by the end, was extremely impressive.”He’s a great teammate, and great with the kids,” he said. “I think he’s a guy we’ll look to, in concert with our seniors.”There are still four seniors in the program, three of them with varsity