LYNN — Every successful basketball team needs a skilled point guard to facilitate its offense. NBA stars like Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Boston’s Kyrie Irving and Toronto’s Kyle Lowry have proven that a winning team requires a high-level player checked off at the point guard position.
The Classical girls basketball team can check that box off thanks to senior point guard Jeylly Medrano, who has emerged as a crucial part of a Rams group that put together a stellar regular season. Classical made quick work of its opponents in the Northeastern Conference this winter, rolling to a 19-1 record and going undefeated in conference play.
“We communicated and our chemistry got a lot stronger,” Medrano said. “We weren’t expecting to do this well before the season started. As the season went on, we saw ourselves as the best team in the NEC. We started pushing ourselves in practice. We were perceived as underdogs. We approached the season game by game and focused on the next game.”
Medrano finished the regular season averaging 8 points and 4.5 assists per game. She joined the Rams four years ago as a freshman. Since taking over as the team’s starting point guard, Classical has made three consecutive trips to the state tournament.
“Jeylly’s our floor general,” Rams coach Tom Sawyer said. “She has the ball in her hands the majority of the time. She gets us in a good play depending on what the opposing defense tries to do. She sets up our defense so she’s really one of our leaders on the court.
Sawyer added, “You need facilitators. You need a player that has the ability to facilitate the offense. Jeylly does that and places our other players in good positions where they can be successful, more often than not. That’s key for any team, especially at the high school level.”
With four seniors in their starting five, the Rams felt they had the necessary ingredients for a winning recipe prior to the start of the season. As soon as the team came together for practices in November, Medrano and her fellow seniors set the bar high in hopes of ending their Classical careers with a memorable year.
“We didn’t make the tournament my freshman year,” Medrano said. “We made it my sophomore and junior season. Me and my fellow captains, Paris Wilkey and Tyarah Horton, wanted to do something that hadn’t been done here yet. We wanted to make history and it’s been an incredible year.”
Medrano added that she’s been fortunate to have played with three other senior starters through the majority of her basketball career. Through the past four years, Classical’s senior core has developed a strong sense of chemistry that’s currently paying dividends for the Rams.
“Us seniors have worked together for a long time and we have great chemistry,” Medrano said. “For me to play with my four best friends, it’s amazing. It all clicks. We’re a pretty great group of girls together.”
From the sidelines, Sawyer has seen progression from his senior class through the past four seasons.
“This group of seniors has been phenomenal,” Sawyer said. “As sophomores, they won our first state tournament against Beverly in over 10 years. Last year, they backed it up with a win over North Andover and played Billerica very tough. This year’s all about our next game. We did well enough to get a home game (in states) and now it’s all about preparing for our next game.”
Aside from the team coming a long way since her freshman year, Medrano feels as though she’s made a handful of improvements during her high school career. She credited her coaches for allowing her to find confidence within herself, one of the key to her success in flourishing as a floor general.
“I’ve improved on a lot of things basketball wise,” Medrano said. “My IQ and my ball handling have improved drastically. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my coaches. Coach (Helen) Ridley, Coach Sawyer and my AAU coaches, they’ve always pushed me to reach my best potential. I have to thank Paris and her father too, for seeing more in me than I ever saw in myself. My coaches see more than I see.”
With the state tournament quickly approaching, there’s only one goal left for Medrano and her senior teammates: bringing a state championship to O’Callaghan Way.
“I’d be happy because i know we deserve it,” Medrano said. “People perceive us as underdogs but we work hard for what we have. It would be historic to win a state championship with all my girls.
“We won’t take any opponents lightly. Now it’s time to work 10 times harder. We still want to have fun but we have to take things more seriously. We’re going after that state championship because that’s our goal. It’s time to see all the hard work we put in this season pay off. “
The top-seeded Rams earned a bye in the first round of the Division 1 North bracket. They’ll host the winner between Saugus and Wilmington Saturday (7).
