Hard work is key to Eagles' success

Mid-winter wins are made in July. 

Barrington High School girls' basketball coach Stephen Lenz said his team's success through the first half of the season is due in part to the work his players put in last summer. 

During their vacation months, members of the team worked out regularly, participated in a tough summer league schedule and even competed in off-season tournaments. 

Barrington defeats Portsmouth, improves to 11-0 in division.

"We had a really good summer," said Coach Lenz during practice on Wednesday, Jan. 25. "The kids worked hard … they played well."

The Eagles won the North Kingstown summer league championship and have maintained an intense focus through the first half of the regular season. As of Thursday, Jan. 26, Barrington had built a 10-0 league record, which was strong enough for first place in Division I standings. 

But while Coach Lenz was pleased to see his team win tough road games against LaSalle, Moses Brown, Portsmouth and Cumberland, he knows there is still a lot of time left in the season, and a lot of challenges still to be faced.

"You can't take a night off," he said.

Barrington is slated to play some of its toughest competition in the second half of the schedule. The Eagles will tip off against South Kingstown and North Kingstown, and on Monday night they played Portsmouth for a second time. 

Barrington brings a balanced attack to the hardwood this year. Senior Grace Coutu — a two-year captain for the Eagles — bolsters Barrington's interior game. The center is a force on both ends of the floor; in addition to being one of the team's top scorers (she netted her 1,000th point on Monday night), she also paces her squad in rebounds and blocked shots.

The Eagles also boast talented scorers in Glory Ellison and Andrea Kubas-Meyer. Ellison transferred from Idaho last season and has settled in nicely. She regularly scores in double figures; that was the case on Thursday, Jan. 26 when she dropped in 17 points to lead Barrington over Bay View. 

"She's very versatile," said Lenz. 

Kubas-Meyer was one of Barrington's top scorers last season and has continued that trend this year. Coach Lenz was also quick to praise his team's point guards — Olivia Middleton and Cary Heterick. The two young guards have filled in nicely in the absence of Bella Ceseretti, who injured her knee during soccer season and has had to miss her second straight basketball season.

"You can't replace Bella, but we've had a lot of players step up. Cary and Olivia have stepped up," said Lenz. 

The coach said Alex Marinelli recently returned to action following an earlier injury. He also praised Liddy Hutchings, whom he referred to as one of the top defensive players on his team. Reem Freij and Laura Clancy are also serving as senior captains this year.

"Both of them have worked very hard," said Lenz, "on and off the court."

Coach Lenz said this year's Eagles team is a determined bunch and has set a series of goals for the season. One of the goals is being accountable to working hard and another is getting better throughout the season. Also on the list of goals is a championship.

"That's at the top. That's a great goal, but it's not everything," he said. 

Push the ball

During practice last Wednesday, the Eagles worked hard on their half-court offensive and defensive sets, but Coach Lenz said his team may be most dangerous when the game's pace quickens. He said his team likes to run and push the ball in transition. He referenced a recent game against Cranston East — the score remained close for much of the action, but once the game opened up his Eagles took over and won handily.

"We can go on runs," he said.