Holy Name Looks to Complete Perfect Season
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Just days away from their Central Mass Semifinal against Shepherd Hill, the Naps sit at 22-0, but coach Barry Finneron knows his team cannot celebrate anything yet.
“We’re going to keep approaching every game the way we have been,” Finneron said. “That’s one game at a time, not worrying about the next game. If we do that, we know we can do some good things.”
Good things would seem to be an understatement for the Naps who have outscored opponents by an average of nearly 17 points per game this season. Holy Name is led by senior center Bianca Langford, who paces the team in both scoring and rebounding with 13 points and 14 rebounds a game. While Langford’s stats are impressive, Finneron stresses that her true value comes as a leader in Holy Name’s strong senior core.
“The biggest thing about this team is that we’ve had tremendous senior leadership,” Finneron said. “That’s what has carried us all year, these (seniors) have set a great example of hard work for the younger girls to follow. It’s also helped us to not look past anybody we’ve played.”
Another senior that has brought more to the game than stats is forward Hannah Owen. The versatile forward has done what Finneron calls “the dirty work” all year long, taking charges, defending down low and boxing out for rebounding position. Owen also provides a threat as a face-up forward that can score off the dribble.
Fellow senior Aryanna Perez has served as the Naps’ floor general this year, leading the team in assists and working as the team’s primary ball-handler. Finneron has been impressed with Perez’ ability, not only to create for her teammates, but also to take care of the ball and limit turnovers.
“(Perez) has been really, really good for us this year,” Finneron said. “She’s our leader out there at point guard, and she does a nice job of getting everybody involved and not making costly mistakes.”
If Holy Name is to take the next step and reach the Central Massachusetts Championship Game, they will have to beat a Shepherd Hill team they defeated 60-48 just over a month ago. If the Naps are able to take care of business against the Rams on Thursday, they will move on to the Championship Game on Saturday at Fitchburg State.
While the Naps have been good this year, they have also gotten a little lucky. Finneron knows his team has earned its top seed in the tournament, but also believes that the bracket worked out very favorably for Holy Name.
“When you look at the bracket, I have to say we are pretty fortunate,” Finneron said. “All the team’s in the tournament are great teams, but the other side of the bracket has the real powers, teams like Shrewsbury, Wachusett and Algonquin. We are definitely fortunate that we don’t face any of those teams until the finals.”
The first step toward those finals begins Thursday when Holy Name battles Shepherd Hill at Clark University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30.
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