Girls Basketball Team Driving to Win

Seniors on the girls varsity basketball team are from left: Taylor Anzivino, Alyssa Patten, Maryn Monett, Hannah Murphy, Caroline Elie and Hannah Wyllie.

Cailey Larouco, Veritas Staff

December, 2019  updated Jan. 27

The girls varsity basketball team is back with high expectations.

Along with that, Coach Diana (Mitchell) Newcomb will be returning for her eighth season as the varsity coach.

“My expectations are high for this year. We are not only returning a lot of players but we have eager underclassmen that will play an important role. Our goal is to always be league champs and be competitive in the tournament. This year I don’t expect anything less and I think all of their hard work will pay off,” Newcomb states.

Last year, the varsity team finished the season with an overall record of 16-7, making it as far as the semifinals in the tournament.

Former South Shore League All-Stars, seniors Caroline Elie and Hannah Wyllie will again be taking the role as captains for this season, along with senior Hannah Murphy.

Since last year’s team did so well, some added pressure is put on this year’s team to follow that great year.

“I always feel the pressure of making sure that I do not disappoint as a coach, and not necessarily with just wins and losses, but everything else that goes into being a coach. I always want the team to be represented in the best manner and make sure that we do things the right way. Rockland has a great history of sportsmanship, competitiveness and overall success and I take great pride in knowing that my name is behind the team and I am ultimately responsible for them. But I also like the pressure. It keeps me on my toes all season and in the off season.”

As a coach, Coach Newcomb has one main goal on her mind: effort.

“The goal for the season is to put our best effort forward in every game. If we get beat it better not be because of lack of effort.  We have talent and need to make sure that it gets utilized properly every practice and game.”

Coach Newcomb thinks this year is going to be even more memorable than last year.

“This year’s team is an extra special one for many reasons. They all are such hard workers and I respect them all, on and off the court. We have so many kids that are all-stars and all-scholastics in other sports and that only helps them become better basketball players and teammates. I think the sky’s the limit and would like to see them hit their ultimate final goal–and I think we all know what that is.”

Wyllie also has high expectations. “My expectations this upcoming season are to hopefully win the South Shore League and to make a deep tournament run.”

Wyllie says that basketball has taught her “leadership skills, how to be a good teammate, time management, and the importance of playing smarter, not harder.”

As a captain, Wyllie hopes to be a great role model and leader on and off the court.

To show her leadership skills, Wyllie says, “I will communicate and help my teammates play their best. Off the court working hard in the classroom and participating in extracurriculars are ways in which I hope that I can lead by example.”

Personally, Wyllie has a goal of being a “league all-star, Enterprise All-Scholastic, and to average more rebounds and points than I have in previous years.”

Hoping to make varsity, freshman Charlie Kelleher has been involved with basketball since she was seven years old. “I started off doing instructional and stuck with it ever since.”

Last year, Kelleher got the opportunity not many eighth graders get. The RHS junior varsity girls basketball team needed players so they allowed eighth graders to join. After starting many games as an eighth grader on the JV team, Kelleher got called up to practice with the varsity team.

This year, Kelleher hopes “to become a better player and help the team as much as possible.”

Kelleher also hopes to learn much from her teammates who are upperclassmen. “I hope I learn leadership skills to help the team in the years to come.”

On Jan. 24 the girls qualified for tournament with a 58-36 win against Cohasset. Just like last year, the RHS girls basketball team hopes to have a successful season and hopes to make it further than last year in the tournament.