MARBLEHEAD — Five games in and five games won for the Marblehead girls basketball team – Happy New Year.
The Lady Magicians are off to a storming start, one that includes conference wins over Beverly and Danvers.
Head coach Paul Moran said this preseason, the Magicians didn’t scrimmage, rather, played exempt games.
“What we did this year, we didn’t scrimmage anyone. We played an exempt game against North Reading, which was really good. Bob Romeo does a great job over there at Masconomet and now at North Reading. That taught us a few things, which helped,” he said. “The statistics of the game count, but the game itself doesn’t count. I used to do that over at Saugus; it helps you get ready for the season playing a team that’s better than you.”
Despite the perfect start, the Magicians are down one of their top players in Tessa Andriano, who fractured her wrist.
“We’re hoping to get her back in two to three weeks, but she’s been out about a month already,” Moran said.
Brick by brick. Moran talked about the team having “great depth,” which makes the loss of Andriano a bit more tolerable.
“The injury is one of those good things and bad things. Obviously, it’s terrible that she got hurt. The only ‘good’ thing out of it is that different kids had to step up and play,” he said. “She’ll be back, but the kids who have taken her spot have gotten great minutes and they’ll have more court awareness. We’re looking forward to getting her back, though.”
“I think our strength is depth. We have a lot of girls and we can go 10 or 11 deep. Everyone has contributed,” Moran said. “Every year, you get dealt a new deck of cards. This year, our depth and our scoring is everywhere.”
In addition to scheduling a top opponent to get the team ready, Moran mentioned that his two captains deserve a lot of credit for the hot start.
“Our two captains in Kathryn Pyne and Kate Burns have really taken the bull by the horns and led us,” Moran said. “I’m a demanding coach who makes sure we work hard every day. The team has responded, and that goes to our captains who make sure the players know that they must do the right things in practice – if not, they won’t get on the court. Playing time is earned.”
Moran was quick to praise his juniors, too, for their athletic abilities and hard-working natures.
“I think our juniors have done a really good job. Olivia Goldwater, Madison Forbes, Ramona Gillett, and Sierra Leinberry are just great athletes,” Moran said.
But it’s not just the juniors, as the Magicians have standout freshmen and are getting help from players who share minutes with the junior varsity team.
“Our freshmen have been outstanding so far. I couldn’t be more proud of Ainsley McDonald. She’s playing varsity and doing a great job,” Moran said. “Carys Moran and Kathryn Commoss both have hit game-winning shots on the JV team.”
“We have role players who play a bit of JV and varsity. Hailey Schmitt, Samra Dosch, Ireland Doran, Ashley Mortensen – they have been hard workers on both the JV and varsity teams,” Moran said.
Something Moran has been preaching for more than 20 years: taking things day by day.
“I’ve been doing this for 20-plus years and my goal is to make sure our team plays well. Wins and losses are going to come. We don’t get kids coming into our program like other schools,” Moran said. “We get Marblehead kids. We do have the METCO program as well, so we get a few players from there, but other than that, we just want to get better each day. Our kids are multi-sport athletes.”
Marblehead’s sights turn to Saugus as the Lady Magicians look to remain unbeaten against the sharpshooting Sachems Wednesday night.
“Joe Lowe (Saugus girls basketball coach) was my first captain at Saugus. I love Saugus and I think all but one person likes me over there at Saugus,” Moran said. “I’ve got former players coming to see Joe and I coach against each other and see our squads. Saugus is lucky to have him as the coach. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
