New faces abound for Classical girls hoop

The Lynn Classical girls basketball team has been one of the quiet success stories in the Northeastern Conference in recent years under head coach Tom Sawyer.The Rams have been a part of the postseason in three of the last four years, winning at least 11 games each time. If Classical is to return to the playoffs, however, it will be with a bevy of new faces wearing green and gold.Despite the relative inexperience of the roster that he will put on the floor when the season kicks off Dec. 16 at Revere, Sawyer is optimistic.?There will be plenty of opportunities for other kids to step up,” Sawyer said. “It will be a lot of new faces but that?s kind of the exciting thing. There?s a lot of potential in the underclassmen that we will have on the floor.”Classical will have to replace its one-two punch of Frankie Galeazzi and Kristin Lauria and the 400-plus points they combined to score last year. But there is still some experience left in the cupboard for the Rams.Senior guards Jaida Santos and Chelsea Rogers will handle the bulk of the backcourt duties. They will be joined by fellow senior Heidi Milhem, who will be at forward, and junior forward Chenysse Hill, who saw plenty of varsity action as a sophomore and will likely move into the starting lineup.After that quartet, there are several players who could step up.Sawyer expects juniors Shannon Magner, Meredith MacDonald and Christina Behen to make big contributions on a nightly basis.The experienced and new faces will try to keep the Rams on a run of double-digit wins. Classical won 11 games last season and was 12-11 the year before along with an 11-10 record in 2011. All three of those campaigns, however, ended with first-round losses in the tournament.?High school basketball does change because kids move on and new kids come in,” Sawyer said. “As coaches, we have to try and figure out the strengths of everyone we have and see if it?s good enough to get the job done.”The Rams have three scrimmages lined up before hosting the 22nd Annual Paul Duchane Girls Basketball Jamboree on Dec. 13 that features 16 area teams playing their final tune-ups before the season officially opens.?The jamboree is as close as you can get to a real game without it counting,” Sawyer said. “It?s a good way to shake off the rust and get the newer kids experience of playing in front of a crowd.”Sawyer expects Winthrop to be tough in the NEC along with Revere and Peabody as well as four-time defending champion Lynn English.?Our side of the league will be tough every night,” Sawyer said. “I think that the conference is wide open.”