St. B's girls' hoops win New England crown

The St. Bernard's fifth- and sixth-grade grade girls' basketball team has done something that no other team from St. B's has done since 1991, win the New England Catholic Youth Organization tournament.

Behind two skilled sixth-grade guards Rachel Pelletier and Quinn O'Connell, they led their team in their usual transition fast-break basketball, along with Mikala Malboeuf's domination of the boards and underneath play, the team captured the long elusive NECYO Championship for this small school from Fitchburg.

Along with key transition play from Pelletier and O'Connell, the team got some key baskets from Alexis Regopoulos, Alaina Valcourt, Katie Smith and Katie Williams in a 38-20 rout over Father Doyle Elementary of Coventry, R.I. With defensive specialist Emilia Fanelli, Kyristina Sweet, Stephanie Sheridan, Alexandria Barilone, Kierstin Hederstedt, and Leanne Kay, they would not let the score get any closer than 18 points.

That brought the team to a game two match up at Milton High School last Saturday against St. John's of Attleboro. The game was a very physical match-up, but the fast tempo of the St. B's team proved too much for the girls of Attleboro. With Pelletier and O'Connell' s speed and quickness running the offense, a key layup from Brianna Deacon sealed a victory for St. Bernard's, 31-26, to move them on to the semifinal round.

For the semifinal game, the girls played Gates of Heaven Elementary from South Boston, with a record of 25-0. This was a back-and-forth game between the two schools, but Malboeuf 's mastery on the boards and frequent putbacks for layups proved too much in a 31-28 St. B's win.

In the finals, St. B's took on St. Lawrence Elementary, which came into the game with a 30-0 record. St. B's was also undefeated, at 18-0.

St. B's got out of the first quarter with a slim 8-7 lead, and then the pace picked up with O'Connell, Pelletier, Regopoulos and Smith pushing the ball for easy scores. Again, Malboeuf protected the boards and limited St. Lawrence to only one shot each time down the court.

Christina Amburgey proved to be a powerful defender, her-hands up defense a shotaltering force against St. Lawrence. The St. B's girls had the lead at the half, 16-9, but after the third quarter were down a point. But Malboeuf, O'Connell and Pelletier went to work, and were too good for St. Lawrence. They pushed St. Bernard's to victory of the 50th NECYO Championship, with a 29-25 win.