WORCESTER – When the St. Mary’s of Lynn girls basketball team won its third straight Div. 3 championship in 2023, head coach Jeff Newhall heard all the talk predicting the end of his program’s reign with the graduation of its three best players.
Two years later, the Spartans are back at the main event for a fifth time in the last six state tournaments.
With a fast start and another strong defensive showing to force 23 turnovers, top-seeded St. Mary’s (23-3) overpowered a scrappy No. 5 Pittsfield, 59-43, in a Div. 3 state semifinal Monday night at Worcester State.
Star sophomore Bella Owumi (19 points, eight rebounds, four steals, four blocks) led a well-balanced effort as Juliana Conte (14 points, four 3-pointers) caught fire from deep and Charleigh Green (11 points, four rebounds, two blocks) was a force off the bench.
“We lost three scholarship players, 1,000-point scorers,” Newhall said. “When we walked out of Tsongas (Center) that day, there was whispers of when would we ever get back here. We knew we had a good group, a young group. … We’re certainly happy to be back there. I thought we got off to a really good start.”
“I think I look up to (the former stars) a lot,” Owumi added. “Now we’re not in the shadow of them and we get to make our own story and hopefully we can finish that. … We’re going to keep driving and see what we can do.”
The first and third quarters provided major momentum swings for St. Mary’s in building two different sizable leads that the Generals (22-2) couldn’t quite overcome despite a barrage of forced turnovers (18) and fast breaks.
Conte got much of the first one started, nailing three of her triples in the first four minutes. Owumi added another from deep, and 13 first-quarter turnovers from Pittsfield contributed to a 16-2 opening frame for the Spartans.
“Once I hit a couple threes, I get some confidence in myself,” Conte said.
St. Mary’s struggled to put the game out of reach in the first half, with turnovers and a bevy of missed shots contributing to an 18-15 second quarter for Pittsfield. The third was a much different story.
Defense ramped up to limit the Generals to just seven points. Owumi starred with an eight-point, three-block quarter, and Swiss Army knife Lily Norton (five points, three assists, five rebounds, four steals) helped orchestrate the offense to head into the final frame with a 48-27 advantage.
“In the locker room, we were just talking about how we can’t settle down,” Owumi said. “The game is 32 minutes, not 16. Just coming out stronger, playing as a team. … Those points, it’s hard getting those. But my teammates helped set them up.”
Green’s defense, rebounding and pockets of scoring played a major role. As did a team-wide 17 steals, adding another chapter to the Spartans’ book of strong defensive showings.
“Defense is really important,” Conte said. “If we get steals, we’re better in transition.”
“It’s kind of how we play,” Newhall added. “It’s not (just) about steals and deflections, it’s about getting them out of their offense and maybe forcing them into the wrong person taking the shot. I think we did that for the most part.”