Warriors return eight players from last year’s tourney team
ALLY COGGSWELL, a junior (#21), gets ready to pass the ball to one of her teammates, Grace Hurley (#15). Coggswell is one of eight returning varsity players from last year’s girls’ basketball team. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
Published in the December 16, 2016 edition.
By DAN BYRNE
WAKEFIELD — Winter sports seasons are tipping off this week and the varsity girls’ basketball team has high hopes for another successful season under head coach Meghan O’Connell.
Last season, the team finished 9-12 overall and 9-7 in the Middlesex League Freedom, finishing up with a six point defeat at the hands of Arlington Catholic, 57-51, in overtime in the Div. 2 North Tournament.
This year’s team sees many of the same faces that were familiar from last season, as the Warriors have eight returning varsity players.
Coach O’Connell, in her eighth year, hopes the experience will allow team will be able to find their rhythm early.
“It’s a new season that is always the hope,” she said. “You hope that you can bring back experience, lessons learned from the previous season with the kids coming back.”
On the floor, the Warriors will be led by a pair of senior captains in the front court. Volleyball team captain Emma Butler and swim team captain Julia Hanley will be filling the roles for the hoop squad.
“We return a pretty veteran group,” the coach said. “It’s definitely exciting when you get those kids who are multi-sport players and when you have multi-sport captains and players who are captains of sports in other seasons. They bring those leadership skills, they bring that varsity play experience. Even though it’s a different sport, they bring it here and it’s definitely helpful and good to see.”
O’Connell praised the attitude and work ethic the Warriors displayed so far.
“It’s just a great group, they’re coachable,” she said. “They’re working really, really hard in the preseason.”
Coach O’Connell spoke about the tight knit feel of the team this year.
“They have come in with a team-oriented spirit,” she said. “We’re excited to play these games.”
Right now the 11 players on the roster include three seniors, six juniors and two sophomores.
The seniors include Butler, Hanley and Brianna Smith.
The returning juniors are Ally Coggswell, Nicole Catino, Hannah Dziadyk, Olivia Dziadyk, Hailey Lovell and Allie Purcell.
The team is rounded off with sophomores Hannah Butler and Jaime Greatorex.
“It’s a new season and we have to create our own identity as a team,” said the coach. “I think that just like anything else, if we take care of the details and we execute, the team will put themselves in a position to win games.”
Looking at the schedule, the coach plans on taking it one game at a time.
“It’s the Middlesex League, so every game is a tough game,” she said. “We play in such a tough league, every night we try to prepare to play our style and to be at our best.”
The Warriors’ first test is tonight against Lexington.
“We know Lexington is going to come out playing great defense,” O’Connell said. “I’m expecting them to mix it up, so we’ll see some full court pressure along with their half court pressure and I think they like to run in transition. So, we’re going to make sure we execute against their pressure defense and make sure we’re getting back on defense and defending the basket.”
The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. in the Charbonneau Field House.
