For nearly all of the last three years, Nobles has been the crown jewel of New England girls basketball.
The Bulldogs went 88-6 in three seasons, winning two NEPSAC Class AA championships before coming up two points and one second short in last year's Class AAA final loss to Tilton. Their rosters were loaded with stars, including as many as seven or eight Division 1 talents at a time, and the common theme throughout was the synergy of Jasmyn Cooper, Ashley Dinges and Christina Pham.
That chapter of the program closed with last year's dramatic defeat and the graduation of the Big Three. Now what?
"We're going to be young. But the bonus about AAA basketball and there only being eight teams is that this is all about, when you hit that week in March, whoever's playing the best is going to have a chance to win the New England championship," coach Alex Gallagher said. "And I think with the youth we have here, with that vision of knowing where we want to be at the end and planning backwards from there, I think we could be really deep (and) really dynamic."
The Bulldogs' program ceiling is under construction. But its present still looks plenty bright and the future could be special. Here's what to watch for at Nobles this winter.
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Senior captains have significant new roles
Brynn Bryant and Vanessa Ellis were key rotations players on last year's squad, emerging as two of the Bulldogs' defensive stoppers and energy sparks. Their roles will elevate significantly this season.
Bryant (Dedham, Mass.) previously worked off of Nobles' senior stars as an elite perimeter defender and 3-point threat off the catch. Now as a lead playmaker, the quick 5-foot-6 guard will shoulder significant responsibility creating for herself and her teammates. Bryant knows her defensive tenacity can't burn her out for when she needs to run offense, so she's working on balancing both sides.
"I definitely think it's a bigger jump than I think I'm expecting," she said. "I feel like I've played definitely more of an off-guard (role), whether it was my time at Dexter (Southfield) or my time here. So I think being the main point guard, having the ball in my hand, I just have to be really conscious of distributing the ball, making sure everyone gets a chance, making the right plays, whether it's me scoring, whether it's someone else scoring (and) keeping the court IQ up.
Similarly, Ellis' physical strength as a 5-foot-11 wing allowed to take some of the tougher defensive assignments and contribute as a rebounder. But with Nobles graduating its offensive engines, the Bentley commit from Attleboro, Mass., has to be a consistent shooting threat and vocal leader.
"I'm definitely going to have to step it up offensively, for sure," she said. "I just want to make sure I'm being a great leader for them all. I don't ever want to take out the wrong things on them."
As Bryant and Ellis look for offensive improvement, Nobles can find help on defense through its third senior captain, Ava Newman (Wellesley, Mass.). The 5-foot-7 guard and Notre Dame lacrosse commit earned minutes down the stretch of last season and has solidified her place in the rotation.
"I'm not a very attack-minded basketball player at least, but I think that my transition from lacrosse to basketball is most shown through defense and through defending, and that's where it's the most similar. So I think I have the most confidence in doing that," she said.
Two major transfer additions
Nobles' program pedigree paid off once again through two of the marquee additions of this scholastic offseason.
Izzy Kittredge joins the program as a two-time MIAA state basketball champion at Medfield. The 6-foot-1 forward's decision to transfer and reclassify to 2027 wasn't easy, but her family's relationship with Gallagher through their work with the Shooting Touch nonprofit goes back to Kittredge's infancy. She'll be an immediate starter and potential prep school breakout with her length, shooting and growing off-dribble confidence.
"When you go back to the state championship game that they won this past year, where she was a dominant force — what we're trying to unlock in Izzy is now, let's be that every day, because she can be," Gallagher said. "And if we can get her to be that every day, we have found a diamond in the rough, because the skill-set for her to be dominant in the biggest moments is there."
Kittredge also has an MIAA lacrosse title in her bag from this past spring. Newman has watched Kittredge on the court and field and sees how the two sports benefit each other.
"I think it's obviously very apparent on defense — that's, I think, the most smooth transition – but on offense, I think she really has a really high IQ," Newman said. "I think that playing both sports, they're very similar in the fact that you need to have a strategy going into it, and be able to see the court. I think Izzy sees the court really well, and assisting also is a big part of her game, both on lacrosse field and on the basketball court."
Bryant will share floor general duties with Alannah Morantus, one of the region's top 2028 stars who picked up a Power Four offer from Louisville this summer. The 6-footer from North Attleboro, Mass., made our All-Class B First Team at Cushing before transferring and reclassifying. Gallagher described Morantus as a "beast" with a Kobe-like mindset of wanting to take on and take down the best opposing matchup on both ends of the floor. Bryant and Morantus previously played together in AAU on Shooting Touch and have fascinating alternate styles.
"I think it's great to have kind of that contrast of her being a bigger guard, being able to work the mid-range and the post, also being able to get downhill (and) finish through contact better than I can usually, due to my size and whoever's guarding me," Bryant said. "But I think we play really well with each other. I think our IQ, we think the same. She's a very attack-first guard; I'm more of a pass first guard. I think that works well, because she knows in my head, I'm thinking pass-first (and) she's able to get open."
Practicing patience
Beyond those five? There's a ton of uncertainty and inexperience.
Nobles is buzzing about Aliyah Allston-Pujols, another top 2028 talent who did play a significant role in the rotation as a freshman and will again this winter. But 13 of the 19 players in the Bulldogs program are underclassmen. Gallagher raved about the 2029 class in particular, filled with promise but unproven at this level.
The captains expect Nobles to win. They also expect uncomfortable growing pains. Ellis wants the younger players to feel the support and freedom to play through mistakes and learn.
"I feel mentally prepared for it," she said. "I know it may not be the same outcome, but I have no doubts. Regardless of if we're younger or not, I know the level of talent that each of these girls have, and all they need to do is just bring it and just have their confidence. Honestly, my thing is, just don't worry. Have confidence, be poised; don't worry about a thing."
Gallagher enters his 26th year at Nobles and 25th season coaching the girls basketball team. He has no plans to retire and feels just as energized working with a young squad as with the star-laden groups of recent years. Gallagher has long taken pride in the united team culture of his past groups, and he's focused on it again during the preseason.
"That culture is being built right now. It's being built in individual meetings that we have with kids. It's being built in time that captains are spending with different kids throughout the roster. It's workouts that are being done in our strength and conditioning program," he said. "Everything is a building block towards what we're trying to do in AAA basketball.
