LYNN — Heading into this season, English girls basketball coach Mackenzie Charles didn’t know what exactly to expect from this year’s young group of Bulldogs. He just knew that they would be ready to put in the work in the gym.
“Going into it, we all just wanted to be back in the gym,” Charles said. “My focus was on teaching life lessons through basketball. Whatever happened on the court I was fine with as long as we were working hard. I didn’t really have any expectations in terms of winning or losing.”
But that hard work has translated into success on the court. The Bulldogs have been perfect in their first season as members of the Greater Boston League, winning all six of their regular season games and earning a bye heading into the first ever GBL Tournament. The Bulldogs hosted Revere in the semifinals, where they battled to a 44-37 overtime win Thursday to punch a ticket to the finals. It’s been a dream of a season after a long road to get to this point.
“We worked so hard to get into the gym this year,” Charles said. “We’ve spent the year getting better every day, that was our focus. If that turns into wins, great. We lost a lot of players from last year so we didn’t know what to expect this season. They’ve been learning quickly and I’m learning on the fly too.”
It’s taken every player on the Bulldogs’ roster to get to this point. With just one lone senior, Alana Espinosa, English has relied on a young core to get the job done. Juniors Rosie Chheang and Kelsey McNeil have been key pieces on both sides of the court. Nia Sams, another junior, has improved by leaps and bounds throughout the year, culminating in an impressive 15 point and 14 rebound performance in the win against Revere.
Sophomore Maddy Laurino has also stepped up on the offensive end, while freshmen Jaeleigh Perry and Alisha Jean are also in the mix.
“We lost some talented players from last year and this group realized we have to win as a group,” Charles said. “It’s not a one person show, it’s all about team basketball. That’s been our mindset. And this group likes each other. They all get along and some of them have been playing together since middle school. It translates on the court.”
Now English sets its sights on the GBL Tournament final, where they’ll host Everett Saturday (11). Charles expects it to be another tough test, especially after the two team’s first meeting earlier this season, a 43-37 English win.
“That was a great game,” Charles said. “It was physical, almost like a slug fest. We got the win at the end but Everett was the first team that played us man-to-man. The referees did a great job letting two teams get it done on the court, it was a fun game. My expectations are this one will be fun too. I think Everett will be motivated to beat us in our gym after we went to theirs and won, but we’re prepared.”
Defense will be a key factor for the Bulldogs as always.
“We just need to play together and play our game,” Charles said. “As long as we do our style of tough half court defense and boxing out on rebounds, that’ll be a big key for us. It’s a young group, this will be our eighth game of season, so we’re still getting used to playing together. Getting that experience will be great.”
