No MIAA girls team has dominated across the last two seasons like Foxboro.
The Warriors are a combined 48-3 during that stretch. They cruised to a Division 2 championship in 2022-23, and following realignment, dominated again in a still-tough Division 3 last winter. Their smallest margin of victory in a playoff game during the last two tournaments: 16 points.
It won't be as easy this year. Foxboro moves on from star graduate Camryn Collins, a dynamic two-way guard who has reached double figures in each of her first three collegiate starts at Rider. Collins did a bit of everything with her athleticism and high motor, evidenced by her 19.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 5.4 steals per game last season. With her gone, plus starters Erin Foley and Isabelle Chamberlin, Foxboro has to reforge its defensive identity.
"What I need this year's team to do is obviously pick up the points that Cam was kind of responsible throwing in every single game," coach Lisa Downs said. "But I think in addition to that just the overall athleticism and the defensive tenacity that both Cam and Erin brought when they were on the court."
Still, with several core pieces back from last year's title-winning roster, the Warriors remain a Div. 3 frontrunner. Here's what to watch for this winter.
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Kailey Sullivan takes center stage
Collins and Sullivan, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, were one of the state's best duos during their playing time together. Even with Collins running the show, Sullivan still racked up buckets with her deadly perimeter shooting. She also averaged 19.9 points, made 76 3-pointers and cleared 1,200 career points last season, all while operating mostly off the ball.
Downs wants to keep Sullivan off-ball when she can this year to leverage her movement shooting. But Sullivan will become a more central figure in the overall playbook.
"She was definitely always a target on our offense, but I think a lot of our offensive sets were geared toward Cam, whether she was to get the ball and then distribute it or whatnot, but she always had some play built around her," Downs saisd. "And I think that this year, that will be Kailey. ... I think keeping her off the ball is probably
going to be our best bet, because, there's a lot of different things I can do to get her open, whereas if she has the ball, they can just stick some bigger people on her, or some quicker double-teams, or they can jump her or whatnot. But I think most of the plays are going to have her in mind — the ball getting to her."
Though Sullivan's marksmanship off the catch is her best weapon, she's shown steady growth as an overall scorer and playmaker, evidenced as recently as in this summer's Wally Seaver Invitational. Sullivan's developed poise gives Downs confidence that she can take on a full season as the team's leader.
"By the end of our season last year, she was doing it all," she said. "There were some times early in her sophomore, junior year, that she could get in her own head if things weren't going her way, in terms of her the shots going in. But it was things were floating off her back (last year), and that was the only thing that I kept harping on her (for). You can't get down on yourself. You have to keep saying 'What's the next play?' and focusing on that. And she got so good at that by the end, and I think that's just maturity."
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A healthy Addie Ruter changes the game
Collins and Sullivan have spearheaded Foxboro's title runs, but the Warriors reached even higher levels of dominance when Ruter, a 6-foot-3 center, was available. Her combination of size, court awareness and mid-range shooting touch gave the team a new dimension.
Ruter has struggled to stay healthy; she returned in late January from a patellar tendon injury and made an impact in the playoffs, but it flared up again in the spring, and she opted for surgery in June that should provide a more permanent fix.
"She is, like, 80 percent ready," Downs said. "She's running now, which is great. So as soon as PT clears her, she can start practicing and whatnot. We're hoping it's in time for tryouts, but it's around that time that she'll be cleared to play."
Downs wants to lean more on Ruter this season. Ruter can anchor the Foxboro defense and also serve as a playmaking hub on offense with her ability to read double-teams and find open shooters.
"I feel like centers are just underutilized, or teams don't tend to use them as much, and I'm lucky enough that I have one, so I'm gonna use her as much as possible this year, and just kick the ball in as often as possible," Downs said.
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A new group of breakout guards
Foxboro gave us a sneak peak of their next talented guard last season when freshman Alaysia Drummonds joined the team. Drummonds, now a sophomore, held her own in a complementary role next to Collins and Sullivan. She stood out on the AAU circuit with the Boston Showstoppers this summer, and Downs has high hopes for her in the starting lineup.
"I knew what she was coming with, but I wasn't sure how it would translate to high school and our speed that we that we run at," she said. "But last year, she just did fantastic, and she just works on her game so much. I'm just expecting huge things from her as a starter this year."
Downs projects Drummonds will share point guard responsibilities with Adrianna Porazzo, another breakout name to watch. Porazzo, a junior, has been on the varsity squad since her freshman year, but played a minor role. But Downs has seen incredible growth between Porazzo's AAU play with the Bay State Jaguars and her individual workouts.
"This summer, she was just a whole different athlete out there," Downs said. "I went to several tournaments and then I even had college coaches reaching out to me, like, 'Who is this girl? What's she all about?' She took private lessons every day, she was lifting; she was doing all the things that you want a kid who's really serious to do to get the looks."
