Lynnfield Girls Begin Season With Young Team

The Lynnfield Pioneers' Girls Basketball season closed last season with 10-10 record, which represented an impressive turnaround after a slow start. The season finished with a tough loss (54-49) to Triton in the first round of post season play. Despite the loss, last year represented a strong season. "I think the kids worked hard all season and got better every day," said Coach Pam MacDonald of last year's team. This year, the Pioneers come to the court as a young team, after losing seven players from last year's varsity team.

Looking to Past Experience for Leadership

This season will be MacDonald's second year working with the girls. Previously she was a coach in Revere for six years. Assistant Coach Jon DeMarco and his brother Rich DeMarco are also on hand to help throughout the season. MacDonald said of this year's team "the girls love basketball, they are at it every day and they want to get better." When given a day off from practice, the girls held their own captains practice, according to MacDonald. The team's focus this year will be "to get better each day," said MacDonald, "In High School it's got to be about getting better and working hard. We want the kids to reach their potential."

The two returning varsity players, seniors Kelsey LeBlanc and Shannon Lamusta will play key roles as captains this year. Both come into the season having started a few games last year. They bring key experience to the court this year.  

A Tough Season Ahead

According to MacDonald, the CAL league is packed with strong competitors, therefore it is not likely that any game will be easy. However, in previous years Pentucket, Masconomet and North Andover have been tough players on the field, and will likely be strong again this year.  Lynnfield will continue to bring it's own strengths to the court. "We are fast and aggressive," MacDonald said of some of Lynnfield's strengths that other teams will have to contend with.

While the team has only been in place for about a week, MacDonald is excited for the season ahead. She explains that the sophomores on the team are a driving force in bringing the team together. They have played together before and have been friends since elementary school, creating a positive atmosphere for the team. "We are having a great time this year," MacDonald said, "it's fun and the girls are so coachable, you say jump and they ask how high."

The team's first game is tonight at 6pm against Manchester-Essex.