LYNN– The 2016-2017 season was a year of growth for the Lynn English girls basketball team. English surrounded its lone senior, Rachel Calnan, with a handful of younger, inexperienced players and the Bulldogs took a while to gel under first-year coach Mackenzie Charles’ new system.
Ely Guity took the reins of the Bulldogs’ offense at point guard as a junior and took on the task of orchestrating the team’s new system. Although it wasn’t easy to compete in a tough Northeastern Conference with a new coach and a young roster, English didn’t make any excuses.
And now that Guity’s back for her senior season, with an experienced core of teammates, the Bulldogs won’t make any excuses this season either.
“I don’t think there are any excuses,” Guity, a third-year varsity starter at English, said. “We adapted very well to Coach Charles’ coaching style. He’s all about hard work and effort. He’s been like that since he came in. I think we adapt to his coaching style very well. Some of us have played for him before he came to English so we know what he expects.”
Charles doesn’t foresee any room for excuses either.
“We didn’t put many excuses on ourselves last season,” Charles said. “I coached Ely at the AAU level too and I carried over some of the plays from there to last season’s team, to make things easier on her at point guard. I’m expecting a lot from her this season and I’m excited to see what she brings in her last season of high school basketball.”
Last winter, Guity posted averages of 12 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals per game. Guity also emerged as one of the team’s top defenders by using her speed to her advantage on both ends of the court.
“Ely makes the team better,” Charles said. “She has her eye on getting the ball in the hoop and she’s a great dribbler. She handles the ball well and that’s one thing I’ll miss the most when I don’t have Ely on the team. One thing that gets overshadowed about her is she’s a great defender, she’s very fast up and down the court. She’s a two-way player and that’s very important to have on a successful basketball team.”
Guity began her high school basketball career at Salem High, where she started for the Witches as a freshman. She transferred to English for her sophomore year and has started as the team’s point guard since then.
The Bulldogs haven’t seen many wins in Guity’s two seasons with the team but that doesn’t mean the senior floor general has low expectations this winter. An appearance in states, Guity noted, is on the back of her mind.
“The main goal is to make the state tournament,” Guity said. “We’re hoping to have a better record than last year and play each game with a lot of intensity and effort. We have a lot of seniors this year so our goal is to have fun and go out with a winning season.”
In order to make the tournament, the Bulldogs will have to defend. Charles has hammered home the importance of defense in practice and Guity believes the team understands his message.
“I think defense will be our strength this season,” Guity said. “We work really hard on defense all the time in practice. Coach Charles tells us that defense wins games. We work hard on defending and boxing out, so I think that’ll be our biggest strength.”
On the individual side, Guity’s main emphasis is to improve on her mental toughness by staying positive and focused. Maintaining a positive attitude, regardless of the situation at hand, will be the key.
“My mental toughness was my weakness last year,” Guity said. “I’m hoping to work on that this season. Sometimes little things would throw me off last season and they affected my focus. This year, I’m trying to be more positive and not let those little things affect my focus.”
When it’s all said and done at English, Guity hopes to continue her basketball career at the collegiate level. She’s interested in studying either nursing or criminal justice and has narrowed her list of choices down to two schools.
“I’m looking into playing at UMass Boston or Caldwell University in New Jersey,” Guity said. “I’ve met with the coaches and the decision is up to me based on what I’m looking to do. I definitely want to go a school with a nursing or criminal justice program and pursue a career in that.”
While most incoming freshmen will struggle in making the leap from high school to college basketball, Charles has full confidence in Guity’s potential to succeed at the next level. That includes both on the court and in the classroom.
“Ely dedicates herself in the classroom too,” Charles said. “She’s a leader on the court and in the classroom. She’s a great student and we’re really excited for what’s ahead of her in her last season with us.”
English opens the season tonight when the Bulldogs host New Mission.
“My biggest expectation is to have an overall memorable season with the rest of my teammates,” Guity said. “We want to improve from last season. We’ve been struggling over the past few seasons so we’re going to give it our all to have a successful year.”
