Krause: English girls basketball ready to prove naysayers wrong

The Lynn English girls basketball team has flirted with state tournament glory for several years now, as the Bulldogs have parlayed several talented combinations to become a consistent player in Division 1 North.Could this be the year the Bulldogs finally make it to the TD Garden?Anyone who has wondered about that all season while the Bulldogs pretty much owned the Northeastern Conference, the Boverini Tournament, and the few non-league teams they did play has to agree that this is their best shot yet.Coach Fred Hogan took this Big 3 — Catherine Stinson, Deidra Newson and Diondra Woumn — and groomed them as freshmen. Hogan wasn?t shy about giving the kids plenty of playing time as youngsters, as he knew the more experience they got, the better they would be as upperclassmen.When the three were freshmen, the Bulldogs ended up losing to Revere in the first round in a year where the Patriots had perhaps the area?s best player in Morgan Jenkins. The following season, English lost to Lincoln-Sudbury in the quarterfinals.They seemed poised, as juniors, to make a real run as Stinson, Newson and Woumn were maturing into steady, experienced players. They grabbed the top seed with a 20-2 record and destroyed Medford in the first round, 68-34.But No. 8 Andover came to the Cavanagh Field House on Sunday, March 3, and thanks to a combination of foul trouble and a three-point barrage by the Golden Warriors, the Bulldogs were upset, 55-47.That loss stuck to the Bulldogs? craws, and for more than one reason. There had been whispers, all throughout that post-season, that English?s schedule was too soft … that because the Northeastern Conference, in general, did not have strong girls basketball teams, the Bulldogs — despite their record — were not prepared to face teams that were used to playing, and winning, big games.Then, too, there was the theory that English?s players had maxed out on their talents, and that they were as good as they were going to get. This one couldn?t go anywhere but to her right … that one couldn?t shoot consistently enough … and another one couldn?t do something else.When Stinson hit her 1,000th point this winter against Medford, she made it clear that the team was highly motivated to prove the doubters wrong. And even Hogan says that silencing the naysayers makes this season extra special.As the popular meme goes, “haters gonna hate.” But they?d be advised to tone it down just a little.While those charges of a “soft schedule” might have had some accuracy in years past, nobody can claim English hasn?t earned its undefeated season (up to now, the Bulldogs still have to face Arlington Catholic Thursday to finish the deal). All English did in a two-day span Sunday and Monday was beat No. 6 Newton North and No. 7 Masco. Neither game was a rout, but then again, being able to hang in there and win the close ones against comparable talent is what makes a difference between almost getting there and arriving.There?s no question all three girls, especially Newson, stepped their games up between 2013 and now. There?s no question English can come from behind against quality talent (having done so Monday night against Masco). And there?s no question that the Bulldogs are ready for anything on the big stage (besides this past weekend, they also handled St. Mary?s — which only has two losses — fairly easy last December in the Boverini).It?ll be tough for the average team to key on any one particular English player because the other two are just as liable to go off and beat you all by themselves if that?s what it takes. Even scarier, English goes at least six deep now, with Makayla Everette, Sam Holey and Devinya Robinson each contributing meaningful minutes. Holey, in particular, was vital in the two wins this weekend.To win the North, of course, English will have to beat teams with its pressure defense and opportunistic offense. If the Bulldogs run up against a team that can handle their press, it?ll obviously make thing