LYNN — After a disappointing first-round exit from the state tournament last season, St. Mary’s girls basketball coach Jeff Newhall and the Spartans will look to turn the page early.
“I think that we have had great success and a great run here,” Newhall said. “I tell the kids that bad losses stick out more than they should. You should really remember all the wins and success but the losses stand out.
“That one hurt and it still does sting to think about,” Newhall added of last seasons ending. “To be a 1 seed and to lose in the first round at home, especially to Bishop Fenwick, hurt but we just have to move on. We can’t go into the season worrying about how we could have won that game or we will never succeed.”
This year the Spartans will rely on a large group of capable players to help continue the winning atmosphere.
“We have had some really good teams in the past but I will say that this team, for the climate of high school basketball right now, our talent pool is very deep,” Newhall said. “We may not have the superstars, and by that I mean players moving on to play at a high level in college, but we have 15 to 20 kids who I would consider in the mix for varsity.
“Obviously that doesn’t mean they will all play but what it does mean is we will have high intensity practices,” Newhall added. “With that kind of work ethic the games should take care of themselves.”
Some players St. Mary’s will look to to step up this season include seniors Pamela Gonzalez, Ashley Sullivan and Ellie Riordan and a junior class that includes Olivia Matela, Gabby Torres, Christina Nowicki and the Spartans lone forward Jannice Avelino. Sophomore guard Nicolette D’Itria’s also projected to play a key role.
“Sullivan is a four year varsity player and Gonzalez was our leading scorer on team last year,” Newhall said. “Gabby Torres started every game here her first two years. Avelino was the backup to our only senior last season. She didn’t get a ton of minutes but we are definitely expecting her to step up in a bigger role this season.”
The Spartans will once again have their work cut out for them this year while competing in a challenging Central Catholic League.
“This league, I would put it against anyone else’s in the state,” Newhall said. “It’s remarkable what these schools have been able to accomplish. It’s hard, last year we went 7-5 and we could’ve honestly went 0-12. Cathedral is always a strong team and they’re definitely the team to beat. Archbishop-Williams has also had success and after those two teams everyone is in the mix. Every time you get on the bus to go to another CCL team’s gym it’s going to be a challenge.”
While Newhall recognizes the Spartans deep roster of talented players, he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself when setting goals for the 2018 season.
“It’s a new season, a new group and a fresh start and that’s our focus now,” Newhall said. We lost one senior. We are going to have 17-18 people at varsity practices this year. It’s going to take time to get to where we want to be, but that doesn’t mean we are taking a step back at all.
“The bar is always set high athletically at St. Mary’s,” Newhall added. “We are playing to advance as far as we can. At the end of the day only one team can win the state final and you can’t say that if you’re not that team you had a bad year. Last year gave us a wake up call and hopefully we can learn from it, but it’s ‘not state championship or bust.’ That would be ridiculous.”
