DANVERS — Playoff basketball often comes down to will over skill. Good luck beating a team whose most skilled player also brings the most will on every single possession.
Pentucket became the latest of Bishop Fenwick’s opponents to learn that senior captain Celia Neilson is that girl. The crafty, fearless guard both powered and willed her top-seeded Crusaders to a 39-23 victory Saturday in a Division 3 quarterfinal played at St. John’s Prep’s Memorial Gymnasium.
A spot in the D3 Final Four was very much anyone’s to earn entering the fourth quarter, with Fenwick struggling offensively and clinging to a five-point lead. Neilson, who had a game-high 17 points, attacked the rim and sparked the Crusaders to an 11-0 final period that included a thunderous and-1 to push the lead to double digits and effectively clinch the Final Four banner with 5:56 to play.
“There are times when Celia just says ‘We are not losing.’ That’s how she plays,” said Bishop Fenwick head coach Adam DeBaggis. “She’s special.”
In the Final Four for the third time in five years, the Crusaders (18-5) will face No. 4 Medway (19-4) Tuesday at Emmanuel College in Boston at 5 p.m. for the right to advance to the state title game.
The team’s three captains, Neilson, Caitlin Boyle and Brittney Figulski, were on the bench when Fenwick made the state final in 2022 and are determined to bookend their careers with another appearance.
“It’s a full circle moment,” said Neilson, who added eight rebounds, five assists and five steals to her 17 points. “The three of us think a lot about the seniors from the last two years who didn’t get to play in the Final Four. We’re doing this for them.”
Freshman Taisha Castillo helped spark Fenwick’s early fourth quarter run by causing successive turnovers on the first two possessions by Pentucket (18-6). That led to a 4-0 run (after the Crusaders scored just 6 total points in the third quarter), which swelled the top seed’s confidence and got them going downhill offensively.
“That was huge,” said Neilson. “It’s hard coming back in the playoffs, especially in this kind of atmosphere. So we knew we had to get up on them.”
Boyle’s 10 rebounds helped make sure the Panthers didn’t get any second chance opportunities.
It was the third straight playoff game in which Bishop Fenwick held its opponent under 30 points and Pentucket, which deployed the dangerous 1,000-point scorer Amelia Crowe (12 points) on the perimeter, shot 2-for-21 (9.5 percent) from 3-point land.
“Pentucket is a very good team and they missed some shots,” said DeBaggis, “but I think when you’re rushed, it’s hard to shoot … and that’s what our defense does.”
It can’t be overstated how difficult it is to shut out a state quarterfinal caliber team like Pentucket in the fourth quarter with the season on the line. Fenwick’s zone defense had a quick, relentless front line with Abby Jenkins, Reese Spurchise, Castillo and Figulski causing havoc, then relied on towers of power Boyle and Neilson in the back. The combination has been largely unsolvable for Fenwick’s foes this winter.
“Those girls play with tenacity. And they can do it for four quarters because they dedicate themselves to being in really good shape and playing hard at all times,” said DeBaggis.
The Crusaders didn’t have a great start, falling behind 6-2. The bout was soon tied, 8-8, and Fenwick grabbed its first lead at 12-10 late in the first and never trailed again. Though they shot a ghastly 0-for-18 from 3-point land, the Crusaders dedicated themselves to finding open looks and attacking the rim while getting solid supporting contributions from Castillo (6 points) as well as Kyleigh Pidgeon, Figulski and Spurchise (4 each).
“You have to be able to score to win games, so when the shots aren’t falling you have to drive,” said Neilson, who moved effortlessly between her left and right hands while driving the lane through Panther defenders throughout the afternoon.
“When I drive, I’m trying to go hard and basically just hoping it goes in,” she elaborated. “For the most part, we just had to slow it down and run our offense.”
Castillo, a freshman, had three steals plus four deflections. Spurchise also recorded five deflections to help key the Fenwick defense. After conceding 12 points in the first quarter, Bishop Fenwick allowed a total of 11 more over the last 24 minutes of play.
“Our defense held us together,” said DeBaggis. “It’s the heart of our team.”
Aiming for their first state championship since 2016, Fenwick still feels it’s on a mission to avenge the uncrowned state champions of 2024. That team went 17-3, losing only to state champions and defeating eventual D2 state titlis Medfield twice, but the entire school was banned from postseason play by the MIAA during that school year.
“I can’t lie; it’s been a tough couple of years. We had the injustice two years ago and last year we didn’t play as well as we wanted to,” said DeBaggis. “These three seniors have been through a lot, and at times it was tough. I’m really proud of them for leading us here.”
Bishop Fenwick 39, Pentucket 23
Division 3 state quarterfinal
at Memorial Gym, Danvers
Pentucket;12;4;7;0;23
Bishop Fenwick;16;6;6;11;39
Individual scoring
Pentucket: Bellacqua 0-0-0, Gagnon 2-0-5, Crowe 4-2-12, D. Walsh 1-2-4, Dancewicz 1-0-2, F. Walsh 0-0-0, Foley 0-0-0, Gabardi 0-0-0, Hicks 0-0-0, Thompson 0-0-0, Dubow 0-0-0, Day 0-0-0. Totals 8-4-23.
Bishop Fenwick: Neilson 7-3-17, Boyle 1-2-4, Figulski 2-0-4, Jenkins 0-0-0, Spurchise 2-0-4, Pidgeon 1-2-4, Grassia 0-0-0, Castillo 3-0-6, Koulopoulos 0-0-0. Totals. 16-7-39.
Three-pointers: P, Crowe 2, Gagnon; BF, None.
Records: P, 18-5; BF, 18-5.