Krause: Stinson, Newson, Woumn reflect on last game with English, Hogan

BOSTON – The emotion was palpable. The three seniors who were the heart and soul of the Lynn English girls basketball team for the last three years were shattered. Tears flowed freely.After years of being together — in the classroom and on the basketball court — Catherine Stinson, Deidra Newson and Diondra Woumn were coming to grips that they were going to be going their separate ways.?We have been a real family,” said Newson, softly, after the Bulldogs lost to Braintree, 59-41, in the Division 1 state semifinal at the TD Garden Monday. “I?m a better person for having played with (Woumn and Stinson) … and a better player.”Then, she looked at them.?I want to thank you both for that, by the way,” she said.The three girls were torn between justifiable pride in what the Bulldogs did this year … and sincere sorrow over the fact that it?s all come to an end, and that they couldn?t keep winning for their coach, Fred Hogan, who announced after the game he?s stepping down.?We did something no one in the city has ever done before, and we?re proud of that,” said Woumn, whose brother, Ryan, played on the Garden parquet five years ago to the day with the English boys. “But I?m really crushed that we couldn?t do this. I don?t like the way it ended, but we?re all proud of what we accomplished.”There?s a tightness among these girls. They?ve played together since they were in the fourth grade. Hogan took them under his wing early in their lives and shepherded them through middle and high school — which they freely admit. Even after the game, when the three struggled to keep their composure while talking to reporters, Hogan stood over them like the coach and friend he was to them.You could excuse them if they had even a fleeting thought that it was somehow always going to be there … that the tight-knit English family would somehow remain intact long after the basketballs and uniforms were collected.And that seemed to be paramount on Stinson?s mind.?I?m proud of my team that we made it this far,” she said. “But the thought of not being able to do this again … we won?t be coming back to play another year … I wish we could have gone on.”However, reality is what it is.?The shortest kid on the (Braintree) team was 5-7,” said Woumn.?I think me and (Diondra) are the tallest at 5-9,” said Newson.Braintree?s front court measured 6-2 (Molly Reagan), 6-0 (Bridget Herlihy) and 5-11 (Brianna Herlihy). That was a tough obstacle to overcome. English tried to shoot over them … and couldn?t. The Bulldogs tried to go at them and use their quickness to compensate … and couldn?t. The only time the Bulldogs had any success was when they fell into a 2-3 zone in the second quarter and went from trailing 19-6 to being behind by only two (25-23) at the half.?And it took an awful lot of energy to do that,” Hogan said. “I could see at the half we were tired.”Still, reality being what it is, the taste is bitter for the three girls who combined to take the program to untold heights.?It broke my heart when (Hogan) said he was leaving,” said Woumn, “and I?m even more heartbroken that we couldn?t win this for him.”But, said Newson, “I?m glad we?re all leaving English together.”