PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team has emerged as a consistent contender in Division 3 North over the past few years.
This season, the Crusaders would like to continue that trend.
Last winter, the Crusaders faced the challenge of defending their Division 3 state championship. Fenwick breezed through the first two rounds of the Division 3 North bracket, but stumbled in a loss to Amesbury that ended its season.
Despite falling short of a repeat, Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis looks at last winter as a success for his team.
“We would’ve liked to have beaten Amesbury but they were a good team,” DeBaggis, entering his seventh season at Fenwick’s helm, said. “We lost five seniors after winning the state championship the year before but it was definitely a good season for sure.”
The Crusaders enter the 2017-2018 season with a handful of question marks after losing three seniors from last winter’s team to graduation. Guard Sam Gulla and forward Camille Tache each logged key minutes for the team, but the key departure was that of point guard Sam Mancinelli.
A four-year member of the Crusaders, Mancinelli’s currently on the women’s hoops team at Roger Williams.
“You don’t replace Sam, you just try to accentuate the positives of the players you have,” DeBaggis said. “She was on the team for four years and that’s tough to replace. She was tough. We have girls that are mature and smart. We’ll work with our girls, they’re very capable.”
The good news is the Crusaders have six key returners they can depend on as they move forward. It starts with a pair of seniors entering their fourth year on the team in guard Fredi DeGuglielmo and center Jenny Meagher. Seniors Mary O’Brien, a forward, and Courtney Norton, a guard, are also projected to make key contributions.
Junior Sammi Gallant’s projected to take the reins at point guard. Jaxson Nadeau, also a junior, emerged as a solid contributor as a sophomore last winter. Nadeau’s currently rehabbing an injury she suffered while playing AAU basketball in the summer and will be re-evaluated in January.
“I feel really good about our returners,” DeBaggis said. “They’re extremely hard working and they have great attitudes. Four of those girls have won a state championship so they know what it takes to be the best. They have experience in the playoffs. I like this core of returners a lot.”
Defense will be the name of the Crusaders’ game this winter. They’ll also look to run an up-tempo, energetic style of play on the offensive end.
“We’ll be a very good defensive team,” DeBaggis said. “We’ll be very tough and extremely hard to beat. We’re not looking to go undefeated or anything like that but every game will be a tough game for the opponent because we have hard working girls. We’ll be gritty, fast, upbeat and a tough defensive team.”
On the other hand, DeBaggis is hoping the Crusaders improve in the rebounding department. Allowing opponents to grab rebounds for second-chance points was one of Fenwick’s few weaknesses last year.
“We’re looking to be a better rebounding team than we were last season,” DeBaggis said. “We lost a lot of points to second chances for the other team. We’re looking to improve our scoring ability. If we rebounded better and put a few more shots in the hoop, I think we would’ve done a little better.”
Fenwick began its preseason practices last week and things are looking good early on.
“Everything’s going the way I thought it would,” DeBaggis said. “The team’s very determined and a lot of them feel that we’re being underestimated. I think they’re very determined to prove that we can do something.”
Fenwick hosts North Andover on Dec. 13 in its season opener.
