Throughout the 2023-24 season, despite a loaded MIAA Division 1 field, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the championship would eventually come down to Bishop Feehan and Wachusett.
This year, with the Shamrocks and Mountaineers graduating some key players, the title hunt feels wide open.
Count Woburn among those frontrunners. The Tanners, fueled as always by their smothering defense, went undefeated in the Middlesex League for a third straight season and finished 19-5 overall. Three of those losses came to Bishop Feehan, including Woburn's quarterfinal exit. But Woburn returns most of its roster, making a leap to the top tier possible.
"This year, we kind of have a pretty experienced team," coach Steve Sullivan said. "I'm hoping that we can kind of draw on some of that experience to go along with the physical ability. And when things didn't go well, what didn't go well? What could we do a little bit better? What can we improve on? Just having the mindset and the mentality going into (the season): We know that these teams are really good, but we can play with them."
Here's what to expect from the Tanners in 2024-25.
Mckenna Morrison at the point
After Woburn graduated multiple key players in 2023, including athletic wing Cyndea Labissiere, Morrison was expected to step up as the go-to playmaker. The 5-foot-8 point guard responded with a strong season, averaging 13.7 points, 4.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game. Sullivan feels comfortable relying on Morrison as the spark entering her senior year.
"She's our floor leader. She's our general. She's got the keys to the car," he said. "She's basically running everything for us. The ball is in her hands, and I trust her. She makes good decisions with the ball, whether it be to make the right read, make the right pass, (it's) time to drive, it's time to score or get her teammates involved."
Morrison doesn't put up eye-popping point totals, and that's OK. She turns her steals into fast-break buckets and is smart about capitalizing on space defenses give her by pulling up for 3s or driving into floaters. She can turn up the scoring when she needs to, like in last February's game at Belmont, when Morrison contributed much of her game-high 17 points late in a 59-51 overtime win.
The Tanners traditionally have a balanced offense. Sullivan expects that to continue with a number of potential breakout players, including Brooke Tuzzolo, Kayleigh McCarthy and Jaylen Cunniff, who all played major minutes last season. Morrison's unselfishness can allow those weapons to flourish.
Shannon McCarthy's emergence
McCarthy, a 6-foot-1 center, sets the tone inside with her strength and effort on the glass. She also grew noticeably more confident as a scorer as the last winter progressed. Her best outing came in Woburn's close matchup against Bishop Feehan on Jan. 21, a 59-49 loss in which McCarthy tallied 26 points.
"I think Shannon, really, as the year went along, gained a lot of confidence (and) really started getting a little bit more assertive," Sullivan said. "I think that's a big thing. She does a lot of good things out there, but sometimes she's not quite as as assertive as she has to be on both ends of the floor. And I think with the experience, and with seeing that, I think even more so this year, having her be assertive, having her be a dominant force to go along with McKenna, that'll help make us the best version of ourselves."
McCarthy and Morrison are both four-year varsity players who have taken the torches as program representatives. Sullivan values having top talents who work well together at point and center.
"You can't focus on just one individual, but when push comes to shove, Mckenna with the ball and Shannon on the floor, those two are our leaders, and we're going to go as far as they lead us," he said.
It starts with defense
Sullivan enters his 22nd year coaching at Woburn and 16th as head coach of the girls program. He's never significantly changed his approach to defense.
"Get up, pressure, get after people, make them play fast and make decisions with the ball, and then and react and help each other out," he said. "So I think the mentality, and the ball pressure and the intensity is something that we try to focus on and the girls do a very good job of buying into."
Year after year, even through roster change, Woburn's stifling defense is a constant. Last year the Tanners held half of their opponents to less than 40 points and 17 of 24 opponents under 50. That defense should be even more formidable this year with the same core on the court.
"They know they better come in in shape, because they understand that to get on the floor, you've got to learn to love and play defense," Sullivan said. "We've been fortunate enough to to have a strong locker room where that mentality is kind of carried over from class to class to class, and kind of created a culture over the years. So I think physical conditioning, tenacity, competitiveness, things like that are all very important traits in being a good defensive team."
