Whitman-Hanson created some of the most memorable moments of the last winter season with its run to the MIAA Division 2 semifinals.
After starting slow, the Panthers entered the Division 2 tournament at 14-7. They proceeded to go on a magical run as a No. 7 seed, upsetting second-seeded Dartmouth for a second straight year and nearly taking down Worcester South to reach the championship game. That doesn't even include perhaps the best non-title game of the MIAA playoffs: a triple-overtime thriller against Duxbury in the second round.
"I think that's one of the staples of our program. The girls just never give up, and they feel like they're always in it no matter what," head coach Michael Costa said. "You're not going to beat us until the buzzer goes off."
Whitman-Hanson graduated six seniors but returns its top two individual playmakers. Here's why they're a contender in a loaded Division 2.
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Maliah Pierre is a budding statewide star
The Patriot League Keenan MVP leveled up as a sophomore, averaging 12 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She exploded for 28 points in that triple-overtime playoff win.
Pierre continues to grow both physically (Costa says she's now close to 5-foot-11) and skill-wise. Her biggest impact comes on defense, where her length, quickness and feel for where to be leads to monster blocks and deflections. But Pierre has also made strides on offense, becoming a more consistent shooter and scorer. Costa says she's added strength this offseason which will help her be more effective off the dribble.
"She's a lot stronger this year, so one of her weaknesses last year was (that) on drives, she wouldn't be able to hold her line," he said. "She'd get bumped off her driving line a little bit, which would obviously cause her to turn the ball over a little bit. So just being stronger with the ball on her drives — I think you'll see that more this year."
Costa has talked with Pierre and compared her to Jayson Tatum — a phenomenal talent and teammate, but a star who fans often criticize for being "a nice guy" and too plain. He wanted to see her channel more of a Kobe Bryant-like alpha mentality. Costa started to see it in practices last season when Pierre would take more command of the team as a leader, and the coaches named her a captain this season.
"I said, 'I want you to be more like Kobe,'" Costa said. "If you want to be a scholarship kid and get to the next level, when you're on the court, you've got to be a little nasty. And I don't think that's necessarily in her, but I wanted her to kind of just have that perception. And I think, towards the end of the year, I think she started to play with that edge."
Dylan Hurley looks to build on last year's highlights
Some of the biggest Panther moments last season belonged to Hurley, a quick 5-foot-6 guard committed to St. Anselm. She banked in the ridiculous 4-point play against Duxbury to send the second-round playoff game to double overtime and hit two free throws that helped clinch the 78-75 3OT win. In January, she made a near-half-court buzzer-beater against those same Dragons to earn a 46-44 victory.
Hurley also averaged 10 points, but experienced more ups and downs with her production during the season. Costa expects more sustained impact in her senior year if she can also improve finishing around the rim.
"She just kind of needs to focus on being more consistent," he said. "Although with Dylan – typically with a player that has a tough shooting night, they're going to probably relax on the defensive end or get down on themselves. But Dylan just plays one way all the time, whether she's scoring or she's not. I think if she shoots a better percentage from around the rim this year, I think you'll see what St. A's sees in her in terms of being a (college) kid, because you'll see the numbers."
Hurley's quickness will come in more handy this season after Whitman-Hanson graduated much of its frontcourt size, led by Taryn Leonard. The Panthers have some potential options to fill the void — namely sophomore Madeline Moore and senior Amanda McKee — but the expectation is that this group will play at a much higher tempo than in past seasons.
"I think in terms of, like us trying to play faster, it's going to be a collective thing," Costa said. "We were more, I would say, methodical on offense, trying to get good shots, get people in spots to be successful (last year). This year, we want to play fast. We want to get up and down. We want to cause havoc with three guards and their athleticism and defensive pressure."
Leah Daley's winding road to a winning impact
That third guard, Daley, reaches her senior year after a fascinating journey through high school.
Costa noticed Daley stand out immediately as a freshman and he tossed her into the starting lineup for her very first high school game. It didn't go well, and in the ensuing contests, Daley lost her confidence and ended up dropping all the way down to the JV team.
She bounced back and forth between teams the rest of freshman year, then played a small role off the bench as a sophomore. But when Lily McKinnon tore her ACL last summer, a spot as a lead ball-handler next to Hurley opened up.
"I went to Leah, and I said, 'Hey, listen, I'm going to give you the reins. I'm going to give you the keys to be our point guard this year, but I only want to do it if you want to do it. If you don't want to do it, just let me know, and we'll figure it out,'" Costa recalls. "And she goes, 'No, I want to do it.' And I go, 'OK, listen. I know in the past, when we turn the ball over or we get in our head a little bit, it can go south, but I want to let you know that this is me coming to you, so I have the confidence in you. We'll make mistakes, I know it's not gonna be perfect, but this is what it is.' And she was like, 'All right, I'm in.'"
Daley started at point guard all last winter and slowly grew more confident. She averaged 7.8 points per game in the regular season and caught fire for 24 points, including five 3-pointers, in the first round of the state tournament against Middleboro. Daley continued to impress at the Wally Seaver Invitational over the summer with her size at point guard and her toughness driving the ball. Her teammates voted her a captain for this winter.
"She's just on a different level right now in terms of confidence, whether that's on the offensive end or even defensively," Costa said. "She knows that on any given night she doesn't have to be Batman — we got Malia and Dylan. So she just has to kind of pick and choose her spots and understand when to be aggressive offensively and when to kind of get her teammates involved."
