LYNN — Three consecutive state championships and five in the last 12 years – those are some high exceptions set by coach Jeff Newhall and his St. Mary’s girls basketball team.
During the stretch of success, there has been undeniable talent that has come and gone through the program.
Yirsy Queliz, Niya Morgen, and Kellyn Preira all scored 1,000 points for the Spartans, earning full rides to play Division 1 basketball. But, unfortunately for the Spartans, all three graduated after securing their third consecutive state title.
Newhall now faces one of the toughest coaching challenges of his career at St. Mary’s, and from an outside perspective, it’s easy to call it a transition period.
But that’s exactly how Newhall likes it.
“I know the outside noise has picked us as losing a lot, and as a team in transition, but I kind of like that role,” he said. “It’s going to be a bit more of a process than it has been in the last three or four years because of the inexperience of the roster, but I wholeheartedly believe we have the talent here.”
This year’s Spartans will have plenty of new faces, but that doesn’t change the confidence Newhall has in his girls.
“We certainly have a team that we’re looking forward to putting on the floor,” he said. “There are some younger kids, but I just feel like the level of basketball they’ve played outside the season, or at St. Mary’s, has prepared them for what it’ll take. At some point towards the end of the year, I would expect us to be right in the mix again.”
Aforementioned talent includes two returning starters, Bella Owumi and Reese Matela, both of whom Newhall pegged as players to watch out for.
Owumi, a freshman, has already started in 57 games for St. Mary’s in 7th and 8th grade, and her skill and experience leads Newhall to believe she will be the leader of this year’s squad.
“We don’t need [Owumi] to do anything out of the ordinary. She’s a good player and she needs to play within herself,” Newhall said. “If she does that, she’s good enough to be one of our leaders on the court.”
Newhall added that Matela (9 rebounds per game last year) will be vital, and named AJ Hyacinthe, Juliana Conte, Lindsey Anthony, and Jillian Roberts as other key returners looking to pursue a fourth straight banner.
The endgame is the same, but the process takes time, per Newhall.
“I feel really good about this team and where we’re going to get to, but I think it’s premature to talk about any championships,” Newhall said. “We just have to keep moving in the right direction to get to a point where we think we can compete… we know what we want to do, it’s just going to take some time to get there.”
St. Mary’s season kicks off this Friday against Andover, a team coming off a Division I state championship and undefeated season. The Spartans are excited for the challenge, and look to hand Andover its first loss since the 2021-22 season.
“We scheduled them for a reason [and] I think it’s a great opportunity for the team,” Newhall said. “We’re two of the best programs in the state – no question about it. So, I think for our team, we scheduled this game to open the season and to see where we are at game one.”
