Dexter Southfield came up a point shy of making the NEPSAC Class AA final last year, losing 50-49 to Nobles on crunch-time heroics from Christina Pham.
In some ways, making it that far and pushing a powerhouse Bulldogs team to the brink was exceeding expectations. Dexter was starting an eighth-grader and a freshman in that semifinal. They won't be surprising anyone this year.
Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year Orlagh Gormley (Quincy, Mass.) is off to Providence and starting forward Gabby Middleton (Stoughton, Mass.) transferred to Newman. But most of the roster is back, plus some big-time transfers.
"I think we just proved to everyone that age doesn't matter," forward Brooke Nunnally-Gardner said. "We came in here and got all the way to the semifinals with a young team, and our young ones stepped up."
Dexter Southfield's squad possesses some of the highest upside in New England. Here's what to expect.
The best young core in NEPSAC?
The buzz around Dexter Southfield starts with its young talent, headlined by Ella Peper (Newton, Mass.) and Avery Bollin (Raynham, Mass.).
Peper, a 6-foot-4 2028 forward with more than a dozen high-major scholarship offers, has already placed herself among the top young prospects in the country. She can shoot as well as any forward in the region, she's a monster shot-blocker, and she's made serious strides as a driving playmaker. Peper averaged 12.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 2.3 steals in her All-NEPSAC campaign as an eighth-grade starter last year.
"We were playing against seniors in seventh grade," Peper said. "Now that we're older, it's kind of just a little less frightening. It's a lot easier because in seventh grade, I felt like I was playing against the best people ever."
Peper has noticeably leveled up each year at Dexter. In seventh grade she was a low-minutes shooting specialist, and last year started but mostly worked off the ball. Now she's even stronger and faster.
"She knew she had to build her strength. She knew she had to work on a little, quick first step," coach Kristen Campopiano said. "She knew what she needed to do to get there, and I've seen her progression in all those areas."
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Alongside Peper is Bollin, a 6-foot-2 stretch big who reclassified to 2029 and holds a handful of high-major offers herself: Missouri, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan State and Providence, among others. She's drawn praise for her mobility at her size and her communication skills, particularly on defense. Peper and Bollin were battling in the post during Thursday's open gym, and they plan to connect in two-player actions throughout next season.
"I feel like we work well with each other in and out of the paint, and even on the 3-point line," Bollin said.
Peper and Bollin are the pillars of the youth movement, but Dexter has six total underclassmen who could find a spot in the rotation — even 2030 guard Xyzla Simpson (Mattapan, Mass.) showed flashes during the open gym scrimmages. Campopiano labeled 2027 guard Sam Barton (Reading, Mass.) as a breakout player to watch.
"She does the dirty work. She does the little things," Campopiano said. "She makes sure the screen is always there. She rebounds every time. She gets the box-out every time. She's worked really, really hard on a lot of different areas of her game, and I think she's now comfortable in this environment."
Transfers with big shoes to fill
Gormley's graduation is a significant loss since she stabilized so much of Dexter's offense and sparked fast breaks with steals. Izzy Adams (Walpole, Mass.) slots into Gormley's position as one of this year's top 2026 transfers. Adams is a different style of player from Gormley, but her elite court vision, shooting and willingness to play physical should translate quickly.
"I was really scared at first, (but) I feel like all these girls, even though they're super young, I think we all play super well together," she said.
Adams effectively filled Gormley's role on MCW Starz this summer. That experience should help as she tries to do the same at Dexter.
"She hustles, she dives on the floor, so it's like — even if it's a little bit different style of play, she's gonna bring a ton to the table," Campopiano said.
The team adds another impact 2026 guard in Kam Derba (Easton, Mass.), one of the MIAA's best sharpshooters last season at Oliver Ames. Derba says she wants to up her defensive game with her new team and also become a more well-rounded threat when she has the ball.
"On offense, just seeing when the shot's not there, that doesn't mean nothing's there. I need to get low and just (make) one quick move," she said.
Young, but confident
For a group with two seniors — Ella Andrews and Robin Griffin – and a majority either underclassmen or new transfers, Dexter is loaded with winning experience and confidence. Multiple players credited Gormley for showing the way last year. Nunnally-Gardner (Stoughton, Mass.), a 2026 forward in her third year at the school, is now one of the veteran leaders. She suffered a stress fracture in her foot during AAU play but will be healthy in time for the season.
Dexter expects to contend with the likes of Nobles, Tabor and Tilton as among the best in NEPSAC. They're part of the new, seven-team AAA class on the girls side.
"I know they want to go out and beat them," Campopiano said. "I don't know what they're thinking, but I will say they're not scared of anything, and I will say they've always kind of had that attitude."
One point that follows the theme of those aforementioned NEPSAC stalwarts: Dexter projects as a balanced scoring team loaded with strong shooters and ball-movers.
"Your next pass, that's a good shooter, that's a good shooter, that's a good post player," Bollin said. "You always know that it's going to someone good and it's not like there's one player on the team where it's like, she's a superstar. We're all really good and we play well together."
