How the St. Marys (Massachusetts) high school girls basketball team made history

We interviewed St. Mary's girls coach Jeff Newhall and former player to take a look at how they built such a successful program

MIAA girls basketball champions: Spartans (25-3) win the state championship 46-38 over Norwell moving into 1st all time in the MIAA girls basketball history with 7 overall titles / St. Mary's athletics of MIAA

The St. Mary’s High School girls' basketball program is one of the best in the state of Massachusetts when it comes to developing its players.

The team is coached by Jeff Newhall, who also happens to be the athletic director. While coordinating the school's athletic programs, he is also responsible for producing many college-level talents from the girls' basketball team. 

“In the past ten years say probably 15-20 went on to play college basketball. I know we have had 7 or 8 full scholarships, then a number of non-scholarships and division 3 athletes, which is still excellent basketball,” St. Mary’s head coach Jeff Newhall said. 

The Spartans girls' basketball team is coming off its sixth state championship win. The team has continuously bred successful athletes under their program, and this is something that translates to the next level. In some cases, the St Mary’s basketball team can change your whole perspective of the sport, and change your life.

“When I came to St. Mary’s, I hated basketball, but I left St. Mary’s with the utmost love and passion for the game,” said former St. Mary’s guard Niya Morgen.

In high school, Morgen was a part of back-to-back state championships at St. Mary’s, was named captain of the team, CCL MVP, and a 1,000-point scorer. 

Morgen now plays at Bentley University, which is ranked the third-best Women's college basketball team in the entire country. As a sophomore, Morgen averaged the third most points on the team at 10.9 a game, all while being a part of a team that made it to the national quarterfinals recently. 

Newhall, who has been the coach at St. Mary’s for the last 18 years, has developed a structure for his players that guarantees success.

He described a team in the late 2000s that changed everything for the program. After years of going 2-10 and 1-11, they finally turned it around, which shifted things forever.

“The school started expanding, we built new buildings, our basketball team started becoming very competitive and played at a higher level,” Newhall said. “It became something that high-level basketball players and students became interested in, and it rolled downhill from there.”

Since then, the philosophy for Newhall has been creating a culture that people want and enjoy being a part of. He claims he has had talent, but what really allows the team to thrive is the culture that has been built over the years.

“I think we build a team that on and off the court promotes being together, I feel like if the cultures there and the atmosphere is there, then push comes to shove you might be willing to make a play for the team or make a play to bail out a teammate,” Newhall said. “ I think if you go with that philosophy, opposed to saying 'we have the best five players so we should win,’ you are probably going to win when culture comes first.”

This isn’t just something that Newhall installs in his head, but something he stresses to the athletes he is working with. It resonates with all players that sticks with them forever.

Among Morgen, he has produced players like Yirsy Quéliz, who is the starting point guard for Northeastern, Kellyn Preira, a forward at Monmouth University, as well as so many others.

“The sports at St. Mary’s are always successful because of the culture. It starts off the court and gets carried onto it,” Morgen said. “Going into St. Mary’s, you know what you are getting yourself into, and athletes go there knowing they can make it to the next level if they put in the work.”

The girls' basketball program at St. Mary’s has a unique approach to the sport, and one that works well. Newhall and his athletes will continue to play at the highest level and will likely keep producing many college-level players. 

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