BRIGHTON, Mass. — Two of the fastest-rising girls programs in NEPSAC met on Sunday afternoon.
Newman and Darrow are new members of Class AA, with Darrow making the leap all the way from Class D and Newman in its inaugural season of girls basketball. The inexperience hasn't stopped the teams from breakout winter seasons — Darrow is currently ninth in our NEPSAC Top 10, with Newman on the outside looking in.
That'll change after the Cardinals won a hard-fought, 57-47 game in their home gym at the Track at New Balance. Newman led most of the contest, even building a 47-31 gap in the second half, though a 12-2 Darrow run cut the lead to 49-43. Newman improves to 11-3, its only losses coming against AAA power Hoosac on Saturday and Putnam Science (twice).
Here are five standouts from the matchup.
Shannon Welburn, Newman
Class of 2026, 5-9 guard
Hometown: Wellesley, Mass.
I counted three separate offensive rebound putbacks for Welburn, whose high motor was the most impactful presence for Newman in the victory. She opened the scoring with a corner 3 before those buckets and added a later highlight where she jumped a passing lane, took a steal and the way to the basket and finished through a foul. Welburn is a prolific shooter, but I think I've underestimated how many other ways she can affect the game.
Gabby Middleton, Newman
Class of 2027, 5-10 guard/forward
Hometown: Stoughton, Mass.
Middleton scored nine points (tied for second-most on the Cardinals) and showed off some of the fluidity and scoring craft that make her one of the region's top 2027 prospects. I noted two times Middleton went to a sweet driving spin move: one that ended in a layup on the left side and another straight-on where she snuck under a defender to flip up a tough shot. This was a great test for Middleton; Darrow is an imposing defensive team with tenacity on the perimeter and plenty of size inside. As the game progressed, her attacking mindset sharpened and met the challenge.
Sophie Mahar, Newman
Class of 2025, 5-5 guard
Hometown: Wakefield, R.I.
Nine different players scored for Newman in this contest, but I kept coming back to Mahar for her two-way impact. She's just a pest in all the best ways, starting with her activity level on defense and ability to generate deflections or at least bother opposing guards. Mahar also knocked down two 3-pointers as part of her eight points. Before the game, Newman recognized Mahar for passing 1,000 points across her entire high school career, which also includes time at Rocky Hill Country Day.
Amanda Smith, Darrow
Class of 2025, 5-5 guard
Hometown: Wakefield, R.I.
NCAA: East Carolina
Smith was the most impressive player on the floor Sunday afternoon, particularly when she put the Ducks on her back and led the comeback attempt. The future Pirate scored 23 points in a tale of two halves. At first, Smith didn't seem as focused on attacking open space, and I thought she settled too often.
Something totally flipped in the second half, because Smith diced up the defense at the basket. She looked off a corner shooter on one drive, manipulated the help defender to cheat back out, and attacked that lane for a layup. Smith had another acrobatic and-1 "layup" fairly far from the basket. My favorite might have been her hesi move where she briefly stepped back in the mid-range on the left side, side-stepped, then attacked for a baseline floater. Smith gave us a fun display of handle and diverse shotmaking moves.
Jill Dingler, Darrow
Class of 2026, 5-7 guard
Hometown: Storrs, Conn.
This is a niche observation: Dingler does a really nice job of keeping her dribble alive, weaving in and out of some tight spots when she gets rebounds or draws multiple defenders. More broadly, she managed to make a significant impact even while only scoring six points and battling foul trouble.
Dingler is strong and confident, capable of gliding past and finishing through defenders around the rim even at a smaller size for her off-guard position. She also had a fourth-quarter stretch where she ripped away a steal and sent up a transition bounce pass for an assist, grabbed another steal on the next possession, and then a third a couple plays later that she took all the way for a layup. Dingler doesn't necessarily light up the scoreboard, but she's clearly one of Darrow's most valuable players.
