WORCESTER — The St. Mary’s Spartans are back in the state championship game after winning it two years ago. No. 1 St. Mary’s defeated No. 5 Pittsfield 59-43 at Worcester State University on Monday evening.
Throughout the year, St. Mary’s struggled to start games, but that wasn’t the case against Pittsfield as the Spartans blitzed the Generals from the start and led 16-2 after the first eight minutes.
A big reason for the fast start was senior guard Juliana Conte who drilled three threes in the opening quarter.
“I was with Mr. Ridley at lunch and the roster was on the table and I said if she hits three or four threes early, I think we’re going to have a good day. It’s just what the doctor ordered,” St. Mary’s head coach Jeff Newhall said. “She’s been shooting like that all year. After that point, it was a little unlike her, but she really helps us because we do have an inside presence and can really get to the hoop with Bella… They can’t just wait in the paint for people.”
Conte, who finished with 14 points, admitted that hitting the threes early boosted her confidence.
“I think once I hit a couple of threes I got some confidence in myself because sometimes if I don’t hit a lot my confidence sometimes goes down,” Conte said. “But since I hit a lot [today] I think that got the team going.”
Pittsfield outscored St. Mary’s in the second quarter, but the Spartans took a 31-20 lead into halftime.
Then in the second half, Bella Owumi couldn’t be stopped. Owumi finished with a game-high 19 points with 10 of them coming in the second half.
“In the locker room we were talking about how we can’t settle down, our game is 32 minutes not 16 so we had to come out stronger and play as a team. We all got to be on the same page,” Owumi said. “It’s hard getting those points but my teammates help set me up.”
The Spartans registered 17 steals which led to easy baskets while frustrating the Generals.
“It’s kind of how we play. We try to generate steals, trying to generate points in transition. On other teams, it’s not all about steals and deflections, but getting them out of their offense and maybe forcing them into the wrong person taking a shot. I think we did that for the most part,” Newhall said.
“Two years ago we lost three scholarship players who were also 1,000 point scorers and I tell this group all the time when we walked out of the Tsongas Center there were whispers of whether we will ever get back here,” Newhall said. “We knew we had a good young group back then. We’re certainly happy to be back there.”
The last time the Spartans were in the championship game, they were led by Yirsy Queliz, Niya Morgan, and Kellyn Preira. Despite not being on the team anymore, both Conte and Owumi thrive on “making their own story.”
“I looked up to them a lot and I was in their shadow on the court. I was a role player and now I’ve taken on a role as a leader as has Juliana,” Owumi said. “Now we’re not in the shadow of them and we get to make our own story and hopefully we can finish it.”
“They were really good role models to me. So now I know that I have to be a good role model for the younger kidneys because we’re a young team,” Conte said.
No. 1 St. Mary’s will face No. 3 Norwell in the championship game with the time and date TBD.
