ATTLEBORO – In a battle between two of the top girls basketball teams in the state, even with senior captain Charlotte Adams-Lopez out with illness, Bishop Feehan showed it is the team to beat.
The Shamrocks knocked down 12 three-pointers en route to a convincing 76-48 victory over Catholic Central League opponent Cathedral on Friday night.
“(Cathedral) is one of the top teams in the state in terms of defensive intensity and the speed that they defend, so there was definitely an adjustment,” Bishop Feehan head coach Amy Dolores said. “They did speed us up a couple times and we sped them up. We sped ourselves up at times, but we settled into a routine.”
After a slow start from the field, Cathedral (9-4) came back from a 14-5 hole in the first quarter to make it 18-13 at the end of one.
The Panthers cut the lead down to 18-16 after a free throw for E’Mani Richardson-Williams, but Bishop Feehan (12-1) took control after that as senior captain Maddy Steel netted seven points during a 17-7 run, including a deep three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
“It was great,” said Dolores about Steel’s performance. “She picked her spots. She didn’t force things at all. That’s part of why it sort of seemed like she got off to a slow start, but she was excellent.”
She ended up with 18 on the night and knocked down four of the teams 12 shots from distance on 21 attempts. Cathedral only hit 1-of-11 from distance.
“We know that they have some really good shooters who can get going and basketball is such a momentum game,” Dolores said about stopping the Panthers from getting easy looks from three-point range. “Once you hit one, you start feeling good. We really worked to try and not let them get the first one or the second one to get going.”
The lead grew even more in the third as the Shamrocks went up as many as 23 after a layup for junior Mollie Mullen (14 points) to put this one away late in the frame.
Off the bench, sophomore Addison Frenette stepped up with senior captain Adams-Lopez out as she scored seven of her nine points in the first half off the bench with five of those coming in the first as 10 different Bishop Feehan players scored.
“Addie (Frenette) really gave us (good minutes),” said Dolores. “It was really great.”