LYNN — The St. Mary’s girls basketball team undoubtedly had the best winter season of any team in Massachusetts this year, and the Spartans capped that season off on Saturday with a 46-40 win over rival Bishop Fenwick to take home the CCL Cup title. The Spartans played more games (23) and won more games (20) than any other team in the state this year.
“Given the circumstances, I think we got as much out of this year as we possibly could have,” said St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall. “This whole season has been a tribute to the administration, the players following the protocols and everyone making sure safety was a priority from start to finish. We’re incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish.”
Despite holding a 20-point lead at the end of the third quarter, the Spartans had to withstand a strong run from Fenwick in the fourth to hang on. The Crusaders had cut the deficit to just six points with two minutes to play in the game, but St. Mary’s was able to hold on down the stretch to secure the win.
Nicolette D’Itria led the offensive attack for St. Mary’s with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Yirsy Queliz added nine points and five rebounds. Kellyn Preira had a solid game with seven points, three rebounds and three blocks, while Alyssa Grossi had six points and 10 rebounds and Maiya Bergdorf added six points and two rebounds.
For Fenwick, Olivia Found led all scorers with a game-high 24 points and added six steals. Nasha Arnold had seven points and 16 rebounds, while Veronica Tache scored four points. Liz Gonzalez and Brynn Bertucci played well on the defensive end.
“It’s been such a crazy year,” said DeBaggis. “We started off with a shutdown right after tryouts and we had a lot of questions going into the year. But the season ended up turning out great and I think it really helped us all get through the winter.”
The entire first half was a defensive battle, with both teams struggling at times on the offensive end. At the halftime break, St. Mary’s led 18-10.
The Spartans came out firing in the third quarter, and the shots started to fall. In the blink of an eye, St. Mary’s had catapulted itself to a 20-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
“We really started to get into a flow on offense in the third quarter,” said Newhall. “Our halfcourt defense was stellar through the first three quarters as well, and I think that’s what helped us jump out to that big lead.”
But Fenwick wouldn’t go away. The Crusaders started hitting shots in the fourth quarter and kept chipping away at the deficit, eventually only trailing by six points with two minutes to play. But the Spartans were able to hang on from there, hitting a few key shots down the stretch to keep Fenwick at an arm’s length and hold on for the win.
“It was just a matter of us not making shots early,” said Fenwick coach Adam DeBaggis. “It was great to see us push through and battle until the very end, and I think if we had a few more minutes then we might’ve been able to come away with the win. But we got off to a slow start, and you can’t spot a team like St. Mary’s any sort of advantage.”
Fenwick wraps up the season at 11-5. And although seniors Tache, Gonzalez and Bertucci are moving on, a number of key contributors will be back for the Crusaders next year.
“Our seniors will certainly be missed,” said DeBaggis. “But at the same time, we have a couple of juniors who were very important pieces for us this year. We also had a number of players get some good experience this year, so we’re looking forward to the future.”
St. Mary’s finishes the year with a record of 20-3. The Spartans will now say goodbye to their five seniors — D’Itria, Bergdorf, Grossi, Van Nguyen and Pej’ae Parent — who over their four seasons collected 80 wins, one CCL Cup title, two Div. 3 North titles, two Div. 3 EMass titles and one Div. 3 state title.
“There’s no way you can replace these five seniors,” said Newhall. “What they’ve done here over the past four years is incredible and we’re going to celebrate that. You can’t ask for more from a group in terms of on the court, off the court and in the classroom. We’re happy we were able to send them off in such a great way.”
