Sammy Reale leads the way for fifth-ranked Bishop Feehan girls’ basketball in nonleague road win at No. 3 Newton North
Sammy #Sammy
NEWTON — Bishop Feehan guard Sammy Reale had spent most of Tuesday night’s matchup against third-ranked Newton North focusing on her defense. But after the host Tigers used a late third-quarter run to cut the gap to seven points, the senior decided to enter takeover mode.
Reale scored 17 straight Feehan points in the fourth quarter, powering the fifth-ranked Shamrocks to a convincing 67-47 road win in their return from a holiday break. She finished with 23 points in the nonleague showdown and had even her coaches double-checking her final tally.
“I knew we had to kick it into gear and get going,” Reale said. “So my mentality is basically: I know our team is great, and we work so well together, and we’re having such a great season, so just work together and play hard, and great things will happen.”
After trailing 30-16 at halftime, Newton North had closed to within 41-34 deficit before trailing 43-34 after three quarters. Reale started the fourth with a 3-pointer and racked up buckets from the perimeter and on tough drives to the hoop. She finished off a foul-inducing layup that got her teammates roaring and poked away at steals for more easy points.
“We said going into the fourth quarter that they had made their run at the end of the third, and that was going to be the last run they made,” said Bishop Feehan coach Amy Dolores. “She took that to heart and really put the team on her back.”
Bishop Feehan (6-0) built its initial cushion with a 12-0 opening run. Sophomore Madelyn Steel (20 points) drained five first-half 3s to help pad the lead. Reale admitted she struggled to score at the start the contest, but having a strong supporting cast helped her regroup.
“It’s great to have a bunch of options, too,” Reale said. “If someone’s not having a great day, they can go play great defense; someone else will be a great shooter today. Everyone steps up.”
Abigail Wright managed 20 points for the Tigers (6-1) but faced a challenge against a Shamrock defense that swarmed her post-ups and cuts to the basket.
“She is an excellent player,” Dolores said. “We really worked on denying her the ball. She’s so talented; when she gets the ball in spots, it’s almost impossible to stop her, so we tried to not let her get the ball in spots where she could hurt us.”
Dolores was proud to see her team, which has only three seniors on the roster and relies upon heavy contributions from underclassmen such as Steel and Charlotte Adams-Lopez, give a complete effort against a top-notch opponent.
“They’re great kids to work with,” she said. “They love playing basketball and I love coaching them because they’re so locked in, and they’re excited to play and excited to compete.”