LOWELL — The free throw. It’s the one shot in basketball that can’t be defended.
For some reason, the Bishop Fenwick girls basketball team — whose offense is heavily predicated on inside play under the boards — was sent to the charity stripe just once in the first half of Sunday’s Division 3 state championship game against Pittsfield. The opponents made 14 trips to the line, sinking eight, and as a result the contest was tied at the break.
When Fenwick finally started getting fouled regularly in the second half, they made the Generals pay.
Senior captain Celia Neilson swished seven of her eight freebies over the final 16 minutes and finished with a game high 19 points, 18 rebounds and four assists as the Crusaders held off Pittsfield, 49-44, to win their first state championship since 2016.
It was a fitting end for Fenwick’s three seniors — tri-captains Brittney Figulski, Caitlin Boyle, and Neilson — who went to the state final as freshmen, didn’t have the opportunity to play in the state tournament with a dominant club as sophomores because of an MIAA ban on their school, and were knocked out in the second round as juniors before winning it all in the final game of their high school careers.
“I think so,” Fenwick head coach Adam DeBaggis said when asked if it was the ‘right’ way for his three captains to end their careers. “I still wish those other girls (on the dominant 2024 team that weren’t allowed to play in the postseason) got their shot, but I know (they) will be very happy for us.”
DeBaggis put the names of those 2024 seniors on his clipboard for Sunday’s game and told his Crusaders that “they were with us. I hope it worked.”
Neilson was a force down low, not only scoring on a variety of post moves but also controlling the glass. In one fourth quarter sequence, she literally punched an offensive rebound back to one of her backcourt mates; then, after another opportunity came up, she tapped the ball back to another white-and-gold clad teammate, keeping possession for the Crusaders.
Boyle, the Stonehill-bound standout from Beverly, finished with a double-double that included 13 points, a dozen rebounds and making three of her four foul shots.
“It’s just the greatest feeling,” said Boyle. “You work so hard towards a goal and have ups and downs and go through a lot, but to win it all at the end is the best way to finish it.”
As a team, Fenwick finished 11-for-13 from the line, with Boyle and Neilson combining to haul down 30 of the squad’s 37 total rebounds.
Top-seeded Fenwick (20-5) was also buoyed by a 13-0 spurt to end the third quarter, turning a one-point deficit into a comfortable 12-point lead in a span of just 2 minutes and 29 seconds.
Neilson got it started with a lay-up to give the Crusaders a lead (30-29) they’d never again relinquish. Junior guard Abby Jenkins (9 points) then drained a three-pointer from the right side, Neilson followed with a spin-and-score move to the hoop, senior captain Caitlin Boyle (13 points) drilled a pair of free throws, Neilson scored again down low, and finally junior guard Reese Spurchise stole the ball from Pittsfield and took it to the hole for two more points.
“It’s such a rush,” Jenkins said of taking home the title. “We worked so hard for this the whole season.”
On burying her two huge second half trifectas, Jenkins added, “I felt confident. The ball popped out to me, and the shots were there.”
Bishop Fenwick had switched to a defense they rarely employ — an extended 3-2 press — in the second half and it worked, with Boyle and Jenkins in particular really getting after it and pressuring the Generals all over the floor.
“Something we’ve done all year,” said DeBaggis, “is play great defense.”
With Neilson and Boyle providing a big size advantage over second-seeded Pittsfield, the Crusaders raced out to a 13-5 lead after one quarter. But the Panthers — who had just one field goal and a mere five points nearly 12 minutes into the contest — methodically chipped away at the lead, scoring 18 points in the second quarter. Scrappy guard Caprese Conyers scored eight of her team-best 15 points in the first half.
The two teams traded the lead four times in the third quarter before Neilson’s go-ahead layup sparked the 13-0 run. Pittsfield made one last run, getting their deficit down to three points (47-44) after a Conyers 3-ball with 66 seconds to go, but Neilson put the state title on ice for Bishop Fenwick by splashing two final free throws with 8.1 seconds remaining.
Spurchise and Figulski both finished with four points for the Crusaders, with junior Kyleigh Pidgeon and freshman Taisha Castillo both coming off the bench to provide both relief and strong defensive work.
Boyle, with a smile on her face, said she loved playing for Fenwick and with her teammates …. especially her fellow big down low, Neilson.
“I’m going to miss playing with her,” she said.
Bishop Fenwick 49, Pittsfield 44
Division 3 state championship
at the Tsongas Center, Lowell
Pittsfield;5;18;6;15;44 Bishop Fenwick;13;10;18;8;49 Individual scoring PITTSFIELD: Bre’Jai Ellerbee 3-0-7, Caprese Conyers 5-5-15, Madison Stetz 1-1-3, Harolyn Castillo 2-0-5, Summers 1-4-6, Asia Smith-Moody 3-1-8. Totals 15-11-44. BISHOP FENWICK: Celia Neilson 6-7-19, Abby Jenkins 3-1-9, Reese Spurchise 2-0-4, Caitlin Boyle 5-3-13, Brittney Figulski 2-0-4, Kyleigh Pidgeon 0-0-0, Taisha Castillo 0-0-0. Totals 18-11-49. Three-pointers: P, Ellerby, Smith-Moody, Castillo; BF, Jenkins 2.
Records: BF, 20-5, P, 20-6.
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