In the course of just a few months, the Manchester Essex girls basketball team has come a long way.
In the first half of the season, the Hornets were facing a difficult schedule and struggled to pick up wins, starting out 3-7 but staying in contention in the MIAA Div. 4 Power Rankings by virtue of that very same strength of schedule.
One win over Saugus, however, made things click and Manchester Essex hasn’t looked back since. The Hornets have won eight of their last nine games heading into the season finale with Winthrop, and turned things around enough to claim a division title with a win over Cape Ann League Baker Division rival Amesbury just after that initial Saugus win.
“We had a big win against Saugus on the road to start a six-game win streak which helped us turn our season around,” explains ME girls basketball coach Lauren Dubois. “Beating Amesbury for a second time helped us secure the CAL Baker title and gave us the confidence we needed going down the stretch.”
Dubois credits her team’s no-quit attitude in the face of endless challenge for helping the Hornets breakthrough and find their bearings this winter.
“I am really happy with how things have turned out,” she explains. “We had a very tough schedule both league and no-league in the early-middle part of the season and struggled a bit but it has helped us in the long run. We have really focused on keeping communication and energy up during the second half of the season even when things were not going our way and it has helped us stay focused and stay in the play. This team has really stepped up to support each other.”
Manchester Essex has leaned on a roster buoyed by multi-skilled players to achieve this breakthrough and emerge as one of the top 10 teams in Div. 4. Harper Brooks (14.3 ppg) and Lily Oliver (13.6 ppg) have provided scoring punch from the outside and in slashing into the paint, with Emerald Jakes scoring just over six points per contest. Brooks is also the team leader in rebounds with 10.7 boards per game, while Penelope Riggs is pulling down an impressive 6.2 rebounds per game.
Those players’ contributions don’t end there.
“Emerald Jakes and Harper have distributed the ball well finding open teammates, and both are averaging 3.5 assists per game,” says Dubois. “Defensively, both Harper and Anna Gardner have taken on some of the most difficult assignments and handled them so well. Penelope Riggs has also had to match up with some really tough post players and has done a great job.
The coach adds: “Bianca Torri, Ema Mustafa, and Cordelia Riggs have also stepped in to big moments to give us a spark either with a three-pointer from Cordelia, a post move from Ema, or a defensive top from Bianca.”
Dubois also lauded the play of a pair of freshmen in their first year with the varsity squad.
“We have had some great contributions from freshmen Hadley Johnson and Sofia Colarusso, who play with great composure,” says Dubois. “They have made an impact on offense and defense, and rebounding.”
After Monday’s finale versus Winthrop, the Hornets will wait to see where they land in the final power rankings, and how those affect their seeding. Brackets are expected to be announced for high school basketball teams on Feb. 21.
“Things look good right now,” says Dubois. “We have another game on Monday, and other teams are still playing too, which will continue to impact the seedings. We find out on Saturday the final seedings and who we will match up with.”
Jason Brisbois covers all things sports for the Manchester Cricket. Contact him at jason@thecricket.com.
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