LYNN — St. Mary’s girls basketball season is right around the corner. With state championship aspirations in mind, it all starts Friday evening with the Spartans hosting Andover at 5:15 p.m.
“Every season is exciting for a variety of reasons,” said head coach and Athletic Director Jeff Newhall. “Every year is different with a new set of challenges and every December, we have a new team with new expectations and we are just excited to get back onto the court and hopefully have another tremendous season.”
Last winter saw the No. 5 Spartans conquer just about everyone. That was, until they ran into state champion Foxborough, ranked No. 1 in Division 3, in the semifinals.
“Last year, we made it to the Final Four, which was a tremendous season, especially considering who we lost the year before. But, it was the first year since 2018 that we weren’t in the state championship game, so we lost in 2019, we won it in 2020, there wasn’t one in 2021, and we won it in 2022 and 2023. Our expectations are always very high and I think the kids embrace that challenge and I think that’s the reason why a lot of them are there, so I am not saying it’s, ‘Win it all or bust,’ but we expect to be in contention for the top spot in our league and compete for the state championship.”
The Spartans return a number of key players, including one of the top players in the state.
“We have four starters back, led by sophomore Bella Owumi, who has been starting since she was in seventh grade. So, a four-year starter and approaching the 1,000-point mark as a sophomore, she currently has 18 Division 1 offers that include Louisville, Miami, and Villanova, so we have one of the best players in the state – if not the country,” Newhall said. “I think she has elevated her game to a new level by the work she has done in the offseason and throughout her AAU season. She’s always been a very athletic, aggressive player, but she has added the outside game, the pull-up jumper, the 3-pointer. She’s really become an all-around player, so we are hoping for her to stay healthy and out of foul trouble and be a dominant player.”
Also returning are Lily Norton, a point guard who Newhall calls “the quarterback.” Then, there are Jill Roberts (9 points, 5 rebounds per game last season) and Reese Matela (12 points, 9 rebounds last season), who has committed to Assumption University.
“And Juliana Conte, who was one of the first players off the bench last year and has now worked her way into the starting lineup,” Newhall said. “She is going to play at Eastern Connecticut and she has really worked at her game from being a role player into a starter as a tremendous shooter and we are looking for her to have a big senior year.”
The Spartans – a young group with 13 players, eight of whom are in eighth or ninth grade – look to get back to the top, but this holiday season arrives with a tricky opponent.
“Our second game is against Bishop Feehan, who won [Division 1] last year, so our practices have to be at a high level for us to play against high-level competition,” Newhall said.
That game is next Tuesday in Attleborough with tip-off slated for 6:30 p.m.
Owen Finn is a student at Endicott College studying journalism
