Northfield Mount Hermon has been on the cusp of NEPSAC glory each of the last two seasons.
Both times, Darrow ended NMH's season in the Class AA semifinals. Last year was even more heartbreaking: a 67-66 defeat in overtime.
But Darrow is now in Class AAA and with just six returning players, NMH has an injection of new talent into the program. That includes one 2029 center who has generated serious buzz this fall.
Here's how NMH is re-tooling for this winter.
State of the program
Northfield Mount Hermon was once a powerhouse in the early days of NEPSAC girls basketball.
The program won the second and third championships ever in 1977 and 1978, then triumphed again in 1982, 1984 and 1988. NMH hasn't won a NEPSAC title since, but since NEPSAC added a Class AAA, the school has been a recent force in Class AA.
NMH graduated a large 2026 class highlighted by Olivia Fleming, a current Lehigh point guard and our Class AA Player of the Year last season. Head coach Grace Rehnquist believes that we'll see a slight on-court change with her team this winter.
"We're going to be a little bit deeper. I think the ball is going to move a little bit differently in our attack," she said. "We're still going to be systematically and stylistically the same — I think our kids are really bought into how we play basketball — but I think, just the type of kids we have is certainly going to be different. I think in the past we relied heavily on scoring from our guard position, and I think we're just going to be a little bit more balanced with our roster this year."
The coach
Rehnquist enters her 12th season as NMH head coach. A Sharon, Mass., native, Rehnquist played Division 3 college basketball at Williams and graduated in 2013. She then spent two years on the staff at Connecticut College before jumping right into her current head coaching role.
Rehnquist has won more than 150 games with NMH and is the program's all-time coaching wins leader.
The star players
Zariah Ottley (Rockland, Mass.) has long been one of the more uniquely gifted players in NEPSAC. Last year, the 5-foot-7 guard posted 14.6 points, a team-high 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game en route to a spot on our All-Class AA team.
Our seventh-ranked senior prospect in New England is now the centerpiece and most experienced member of NMH's roster. Ottley, a BU commit, is naturally quiet, but her poise as a leader will matter even more with the influx of new talent.
"She is a exceptionally quiet person, and I use exceptional as in, like, special. She does not feel the need to be the center of attention. She does not feel like her voice needs to be heard to be important. And when she does speak, it's powerful," Rehnquist said. "I just encourage her to continue to use that in special ways."
Ottley will have help from Meg Allbee (Westminster, Vt.), a Daemen commit who has steadily grown her production and role at the school. Allbee is primarily a 3-point sharpshooter, but she'll be relied on more to drive and pressure the defense in the absence of Fleming.
The under-the-radar players
Northfield Mount Hermon typically rosters some two-way guards and wings who outperform their size and stature. This year, that starts with Middlebury commit Kiki Gable (Marblehead, Mass.), who stood our at the NEPSAC Scholastic Showcase in June.
"I think Kiki's underrated because she's just kind of a dog," Rehnquist said. "She's the type of kid that just goes out and does the ask, and doesn't have any fear about it, and I think that is what makes a great college basketball player — is that she just goes out and does her job. Her outside shot is becoming more consistent. Kiki's a great creator on the inside, and she's kind of this undersized 3-4, but she's incredibly tough."
Keep an eye on Zoe Hunter too. She missed the start of last winter due to injury and spent much of it ramping up, but the Canadian wing played nearly the entire semifinal game against Darrow.
"She has all the tools to be an incredible basketball player," Rehnquist said. "She's almost six feet tall. She has a 6-foot-3 wingspan. She's long and lean, and she can defend the rim. She can shoot threes, she can cover 1-through-4, and she's really primed to have a breakout season."
Top newcomers
Make sure you get on the hype train early for Ceanna Forney. I had heard other coaches whispering of NMH having a star new post player, and Forney comes to NMH after reclassifying and transferring from Jesuit High in Beaverton, Oregon.
Since arriving on campus, Forney has already picked up three Division 1 offers from UMass, Penn and Dartmouth. Rehnquist is floored by how the 6-foot-6 center has shown off her back-to-the-basket scoring, her post passing and mobility at her size.
"We just were very, very lucky that she wound up coming to Northfield Mount Hermon. She's everything that was sold to us in terms of who she was going to be," Rehnquist said. "... She's the most talented kid I've ever had here. She will be in the conversation for Double A Player of the Year — if not, she'll get it. "
Forney headlines eight newcomers to NMH. Another major addition that has flown under the radar: Caprese Conyers, who reclassified to 2029 and transferred after leading Pittsfield to a runner-up finish in MIAA Division 3. Conyers is a super quick point guard who already holds offers from Siena and Delaware State.
"She's just kind of the old-school, run-and-gun gutsy point guard that can get herself to the rim at will," Rehnquist said. "You ask kind of, stylistically how we're different graduating Liv (Fleming) — I think Liv and Caprese are both true point guards, but they play very differently, and I think that's really exciting for us. Caprese is going to push our pace in a very different way, and we're definitely going to play a little bit riskier than we've ever played, which is I think definitely going to be fun."
And there's more to round out NMH's depth. Rehnquist called Jasmine Bryant (Middletown, Conn.) an "athletic speciment;" Bryant transfers from Mercy into the 2028 class and has recovered from a previous ACL tear. Cailin Delaney (East Lyme, Conn.) and Emma Maley (Burlington, Vt.) are two much-needed perimeter threats. And Tokyo native Saju Hashimoto, a 2030 wing who played at Dana Hall last year, is "one of the highest-IQ kids I've ever coached," Rehnquist said.
Our expectations
Northfield Mount Hermon has been a certified AA contender both of the last two seasons, coming up just short in the playoffs.
I think the top of AA looks similar to previous seasons. NMH, Wilbraham & Monson and Worcester Academy should lead the title conversation, and MacDuffie replaces Darrow on talent.
NMH has historically been a solid defensive team. The offensive upside looks higher with this year's group. Ottley and Allbee should get buckets as seniors, and they have more shooting around them. Forney's acclimation to NEPSAC is a real X-factor in this team's ceiling. But put NMH right in the championship conversation, as usual.
