After capturing a share of the Div. 3 state championship as the COVID-19 pandemic came down on the world at the 2019-20 state tournament, there’s no way the St. Mary’s girls basketball team could have foreseen that it would be two more years before the Spartans would get a chance to repeat.
But as we stand on the eve of the 2021-22 Div. 3 state championship game, that’s exactly where St. Mary’s finds itself.
The 2020-21 season was a strange one for all teams with no state tournament, but St. Mary’s made the best of it and played all the way until the final day of the season — capping the year with a CCL Cup title. The Spartans took that momentum right into the 2021-22 season, rolling through most of its schedule and only taking losses against one of the best teams in Florida (Gulf Coast Academy) and two of the top teams in Massachusetts (Bridgewater-Raynham and Bishop Feehan).
After finishing the year at 20-3, the Spartans somewhat surprisingly earned the No. 2 seed behind Medway in the Div. 3 tournament. But St. Mary’s didn’t let the seeding get in the way, as the Spartans took advantage of their first-round bye and rattled off four straight wins to earn a spot in the title game.
It started with a 78-44 win over No. 31 Stoneham in the Round of 32, as Yirsy Queliz led the scoring for the Spartans with 21 points — followed by Niya Morgen with 16 points and Kellyn Preira with 14 points.
Preira then came out in the Round of 16 game and led the way with 25 points, pushing the Spartans to an 80-56 win over No. 18 North Reading.
Queliz once again stole the spotlight in the Div. 3 quarterfinal round, as she recorded her 1,000th career point to help lift St. Mary’s to a 60-39 win over Watertown.
That led the Spartans into the Div. 3 semifinal game, where St. Mary’s met up with perennial rival Bishop Fenwick in what would become a classic battle between the two CCL teams. St. Mary’s ended up hanging on for a thrilling 63-62, led by Morgen’s 23 points. Queliz — who fouled out with 1:52 to play in the game — was close behind with 21 points, while Preira added 10 points and nine rebounds. AJ Hyacinthe (four points, seven rebounds) and Bella Owumi (five points, three rebounds) also played well in the victory.
The Spartans will now face off against No. 4 Rockland in the Div. 3 state title game, and the Bulldogs have been on fire as well. Rockland has won three of its four playoff games by at least 20 points, including a 48-22 drubbing of No. 1 Medway in the semifinal round.
“I could stand here and say that we’ve been there before and we’ll be ready, but that’s not the case,” said Newhall. “The state title game is always a different feeling, and we’re excited to be able to defend our title (from 2020) this weekend.”
Tip-off is set for Friday evening (5:30) at the Tsongas Center.
