It was a high school girls basketball season on area courts that was not only memorable, but historic, culminating in not just one, but two MIAA state championships.
Bishop Feehan High School and Foxboro High School were the final teams remaining in Division 1 and Division 3 to take home state hardware, respectively. Meanwhile, Mansfield High School and Norton High School also earned praise for their strong performances, with all four teams boasting three well-deserved selections each to the Sun Chronicle 2023-24 Girls Basketball All-Star Team.
The Shamrocks returned to the Division 1 state finals and avenged their loss in the 2023 title game with help from Sun Chronicle All-Stars Maddie Steele, Charlotte Adams-Lopez and Julia Webster. Steele, a junior sharpshooter, averaged 14.4 points, made 70 3-pointers and led Bishop Feehan in scoring with 11. Third-year student Adams Lopez is a true guard, averaging 10.7 points and 5.5 assists, and consistently turning possessions over with a team-high eight charges. Webster shot 68 percent from the field and averaged 14.6 points, an almost automatic presence under Feehan's basket, tying the Shamrock program's single-game scoring record with 34 points in the Division 1 state semifinal victory and ending his career. He finished with 737 points. 365 in his senior season.
Led by Sun Chronicle All-Stars Kamryn Collins, Kylie Sullivan and Addie Rueter, Foxboro won its second straight state championship and Division 3 state title with a 20-win season. Collins was a versatile guard who averaged 517 points (19.9 per game), 5.4 steals and 6.3 rebounds, earning Hockomock League MVP honors. Sullivan averaged 17.7 points and scored 460 points, including 73 3-pointers, in his junior season. Rueter returned from a knee injury early in the season and was a dominant post presence, posting 7.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. She also averaged 13.9 points under the basket in Foxborough's up-tempo offense.
Mansfield's trio of Sun Chronicle All-Stars includes Kara Santoros, Caitlin Troilo and Ella Palanza, a strong cast for an 18-win Hornets team. Santos, a senior who averaged 13 points and scored 838 points, sixth in school history, led Mansfield's young team. She averaged 7.7 rebounds, bringing her career total to 546 rebounds, ranking fifth all-time at the school. Troilo had a breakout sophomore season, averaging 9.6 points per game, grabbing over 100 rebounds and shooting 74 percent from the free throw line in her varsity debut. Palanza is a strong junior defender who made waves in the Hornets' offense, averaging eight points and eight rebounds per game. The Hornets increased their win total by six from last season despite having only two seniors on the roster.
Norton also joins a trio of senior Sun Chronicle All-Stars featuring Emma Cochran, Ella Tetrout and Carly McDonald. Cochran was a four-year Tri-Valley League All-Star and led the Lancers to a No. 6 seed in the MIAA Division 3 Tournament and a 15-win season. Cochran averaged 14.8 points and finished with 310 points, finishing his career with 933 points, fourth in school history. Tetrault was also a two-way player for Norton who could have competed for rebounds, grabbed 60 boards and averaged 10.8 points. McDonald was yet another option for Norton, posting 118 rebounds (5.6 per game), 136 points, 93 assists, 20 steals, and 19 blocks.
Two other schools, Attleboro and Seekonk, check in next with two Sun Chronicle All-Stars each.
Kayla Goldrick and Avery James led the Bombardiers this season. A strong defender, Goldrick caused fits in opponents, averaging 3.5 steals, 12.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as Attleboro won 15 games his senior season. James averaged 12.4 points at guard, was a strong driver to the basket, averaged 5.6 rebounds and was a key piece in building the offense when Goldrick was taken.
Seekonk's two representatives are juniors Caitlin Olveira and Riley Connell. Oliveira scored 202 points, hit double digits 11 times and added 41 assists, 47 steals and 85 rebounds on both ends of the court. Connell had 180 points and 61 rebounds, and led the Warriors in assists and steals with 51 and 61, respectively.
Dighton-Rehoboth senior Lucy Latour bounced back from an ankle injury during volleyball season to put together a Sun Chronicle All-Star season, averaging eight points and 8.1 boards per game. Latour also had 14 steals and 17 blocked shots.
King Philip boasts a Sun Chronicle All-Star, as does Madison Paschke, who averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds while playing a strong interior role on both the Warriors' offense and defense.
MaryEllen Charette represented North Attleboro on the All-Area team and scored 134 points as a junior forward for the six-win Rocketeers, who continued to battle illness and injury for much of the season.
Tri-County's Gabby Durgum finished her senior season averaging 8.6 points and 8.2 rebounds for a Tri-County team that won 11 games, finishing the Sun Chronicle All-Stars as the Cougars' leader in points and rebounds per game. Almost achieved a double-double. Durgum was a troublesome defender and also recorded 60 steals.