Marauder-ing force
Belmont thriving in move to Div. 1
This winter a newcomer is looking to crash the basketball postseason party in Division 1 North.
After competing for years in the Div. 2 North tournament, which included a trip to last year’s sectional quarterfinal
IN THE PAINT Sean Brennan
round, the Belmont girls have stepped up a level this season. And if the early returns are any indication, the Marauders are going to be a thorn in the side of any team that stands in their way.
Following Tuesday night’s 43-38 victory over Middlesex League rival and perennial North power Woburn, Belmont rolled into the weekend at 5-1 overall, with its only loss coming at the hands of superstar Veronica Burton and Newton South.
With the return of seniors Carly Christofori (point guard), Jenny Call (guard/forward), Greta Propp (forward/center), and Kylie Rhone (guard), and the rapid development of an underclass corps highlighted by juniors Ella Gagnon, Megan Tan, Jess Giorgio, and Jane Mahon, as well as freshman Maiya Bergdorf, Belmont has all the ingredients needed to make a deep postseason run.
The move to Div. 1 is just one of many challenges facing coach Melissa Hart this season, but, in the end, it’s still just basketball.
“That is definitely on my mind,” Hart said of the challenge presented by Div. 1 competition. “I think we can compete at the highest level of Division 1 and when I look at that Newton South game, I know that we can get a lot better. It’s not too different (playing in Division 1) then when you go deep in Division 2, it’s just that you have to do that from the beginning of the tournament.”
“I do remind them often that it’s not a big deal that we are in Division 1, you just aren’t going to beat a team by 40 points in the first round and you’re going to have to play well each game to win. You can’t get away with playing poorly.”
Against Woburn, the Marauders started slowly before storming back in the second half behind the play of their second unit, led by Bergdorf, who finished with a game-high 11 points, including two huge 3-pointers in crunch time.
The win revealed two things about this Belmont team: One, it’s a group that is learning to win any way necessary; and, two, it is deep talent-wise, something that should only benefit it moving forward.
“We have a good team with many talented players, but we still need to get to the point where everyone feels like they are capable of playing at this level,” Hart said. “But we are lucky that we have some seniors and juniors with (big-game) experience and that should only help the rest of the team moving forward.”
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Belmont the rest of the way. After traversing through the Middlesex League portion of the schedule, the Marauders will finish the regular season by playing in the Comcast Tournament alongside Div. 1 title contenders Braintree, Bishop Feehan and Westford Academy.
Said Hart: “I like where we are going and the Comcast Tournament will be a good way to finish the regular season.”
Eagles soaring
It’s no shock that a Bill Loughnane-coached team is off to a fast start. But even the longtime BC High coach is pleasantly surprised at the strong start by his Eagles this winter.
BC High opened the year with five straight nonleague games, and came out of that stretch at 4-1 with victories over
South Boston, St. Mary’s (Lynn), Cathedral and
Mansfield. The only loss was a 55-53 defeat at the hands of Brockton.
“We have six kids back that played a lot last year, so we have some experience that has helped us a lot these first five games,” said Loughnane, whose team lost to Needham in the Div. 1 South boys semifinals last season. “In the beginning of each season you try and figure out who you are and what the kids are capable of and our nonleague schedule has been tough, but we’ve responded well.”
Despite the loss to graduation of Herald All-Scholastic Carl Pierre — now starring as a freshman for UMass — the Eagles brought back stalwarts in Mike Vasil and Spencer Riley, but it is the return of senior dynamo Travis Evee that has ignited BC High’s hot beginning.
Against Cathedral, Evee became the third Eagles player in the past three seasons to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, joining Jack Loughnane (2016), the coach’s son, and Pierre. A four-year varsity player, Evee has turned himself into one of the best high school players in the state while establishing himself as a leader on the court.
“Travis is the leader of this team,” Bill Loughnane said. “He leads by example and offensively he has been terrific and defensively he has always been good. He has meant a lot to this program the past four years.”
An inviting event
The schedule for this year’s edition of the MLK Invitational predictably features some of the best boys and girls teams from Boston and beyond.
On Jan. 28 at Northeastern University’s Cabot Gymnasium, the day will tip off at 10 a.m. with three girls games, beginning with Duxbury-Cathedral, followed by FontbonneFenway (noon), and Westford Academy-New Mission (2 p.m.). Boys games will follow with BC HighTechBoston (4 p.m.), Catholic Memorial-O’Bryant (6 p.m.), and CathedralBrighton (8 p.m.).