The St. Mary’s girls basketball team is always in the conversation when it comes to state title contenders, and that is the case again this year as the Spartans have finished as the No. 1-ranked team in all of Division 3, according to the final MIAA power rankings.
With a tougher-than-ever, 23-game schedule, the Spartans finished the season at 20-3, won the Catholic Central League title and sit in the driver’s seat as the state-tournament brackets are on the eve of being decided. Behind strong play from the likes of Yirsy Queliz — who coach Jeff Newhall says may be the best on-ball defender in the state — as well as forward Kellyn Preira, transfer student Niya Morgen and middle-schooler Bella Owumi, the Spartans have won games on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Not far behind in Division 3, Bishop Fenwick slots in at No. 4 after an impressive 17-6 season. Sophomore Cecilia Kay burst onto the scene with several 30-plus-point games and more than 10 double-doubles, while senior captains Nasha Arnold, Olivia Found and Maria Orfanos have led the way both on and off the court. Also finishing in the top-25 was Saugus (12-8), which comes in at No. 21 overall. Despite battling back to win five of its last eight games, Lynnfield may find itself on the outside looking in at a tournament spot after finishing at 7-11 and slotting in at No. 35.
Division 1 sees Peabody as the highest ranked local team, coming in at No. 26 after an impressive 17-3 season. But the real intrigue is further down the list, as cross-town rivals Lynn English (16-4) and Lynn Classical (16-4) find themselves slotted at No. 43 and No. 45, respectively, and in line to get play-in games for the tournament despite English winning the Greater Boston League title and Classical knocking off a couple of tough non-conference opponents during the year.
Over in Division 4, Winthrop sits at No. 21 overall after finishing the season at 16-6 and winning the Northeastern Conference South Division. Lynn Tech is also in line to make the tournament, coming in at No. 39 after finishing with a 13-6 record.
Marblehead comes in as the highest ranked team in Division 2, coming in at No. 50 despite going 12-8 during the year. Revere (12-8) isn’t far behind at No. 53, while Salem (8-12) slots in at No. 63.
Rounding out the local teams in the MIAA power rankings is KIPP Academy, which finished at the No. 40 spot in Division 5 with a 12-7 record and will likely earn a play-in game in the state tournament.
The MIAA power rankings will now be used to seed the upcoming state basketball tournament, the first one to feature the new statewide format. The brackets are scheduled to be released Saturday.
