Blue Hills wraps up memorable hoop season
By Jay Turner
The Blue Hills girls’ basketball team has won 47 games over the past 2 seasons.
It was a season to remember for Canton’s Margarita Delaporta and the Blue Hills Regional girls’ basketball team as the Lady Warriors racked up win after win en route to a Mayflower Conference title and a jaw-dropping record of 23-1.
Until recently the girls had been chasing perfection — stringing together 23 straight victories before being eliminated in the Division 4 south sectional semifinals by eventual champion Greater New Bedford by a final score of 57-42.
It was the second year in a row that Greater New Bedford has ended the Warriors’ season, with last year’s defeat coming one round later in the south sectional championship game 70-66.
Blue Hills’ 2011-2012 squad had been similarly dominant, compiling an overall record of 24-4 with many of the same players from the current roster.
“It’s been a good run,” acknowledged third-year head coach Tom McGrath. “These kids have been terrific.”
McGrath, who previously coached the junior varsity team for seven seasons, also gave credit to his predecessor, Chris Flynn, who racked up 400 wins over his 32-year career at Blue Hills. Flynn retired in 2010 after leading a senior-laden team to an 18-4 record, and McGrath took over the following season with a brand-new group of players.
Included in that group were a trio of freshmen who have been a big part of the team’s success these past three years: Sinead Dacko of Holbrook, Michaela Adams of Braintree, and Delaporta of Canton.
McGrath raved about all three girls, calling Dacko a “great outside shooter” and an excellent defender from the small forward position, while praising Delaporta and Adams as arguably the best guard tandem in the Mayflower Conference.
McGrath described Delaporta, who also excels on the soccer and softball teams, as an ideal player who does all the “little things” that a coach expects.
Margarita Delaporta
“She’s an incredible all-around player,” said McGrath. “She can run the point or play [off guard]. She’s very unselfish; she doesn’t care who scores a basket.”
In addition to the three junior starters, the team also got solid production from sophomore center Tayler Wornum of Randolph and senior Bethany Richards of Holbrook. Richards is the only starter who will graduate this season, although McGrath said the team will sorely miss the contributions of its five senior bench players: Kristen Peterson (Randolph), Amanda Donohue (Dedham), Janessa Merard (Randolph), Melonie Fedorchuk (Dedham), and Rachael Straehle (Norwood).
“One through ten I need every one of these kids,” said McGrath. “I go deep into my bench. Whether they play one minute or 10, 15 or 20, they’re always ready.”
Overall, McGrath said he could not be prouder of his players and what they were able to accomplish this season, which includes both a conference championship and a state vocational title. As for their lone loss to Greater New Bedford, he said the girls gave it their all and certainly made their coach proud.
“We hung with them for three quarters,” he said, “but when it got to be the fourth quarter we just ran out of gas. But I have nothing but good things to say about my kids. They worked so hard and had a great season.”
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=19656
Posted by Jay Turner
on Mar 21 2013. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports.
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