Court champs

Notre Dame Academy girls, Milton boys realize their hoop dreams

WORCESTER - The Notre Dame Academy girls' basketball team started the day like any other with an afternoon state tournament game: breakfast at the Hingham home of Kelsey Reilly, the team's starting point guard.

Her father, Tommy, grills French toast, sausages, and bacon and also serves fruit salad. Dreams of winning the state title evoke images of beaches in the Dominican Republic for the girls on the team. The Reillys have a condominium in the Dominican, and Kelsey's mother, Diane, has promised to take the team there if they win the title.

The Cougars reconvene at the high school, load onto the bus, and head for the DCU Center in Worcester for their matchup against Central Massachusetts champion Millbury in the Division 2 state championship game. A police escort leads the bus convoy to Route 3, down Main Street, which is decorated with Notre Dame T-shirts.

"It's something we do for games at [TD Banknorth Garden] and the state finals," said Diane Reilly, who has been involved with Cougars basketball for 15 years.

The Notre Dame buses pull up alongside the DCU Center as Watertown and Sabis Charter are battling for the Division 3 boys' title inside.

The Cougars don't watch a second of the action as Watertown captures its second state championship in three years. Instead, they stick to their routine by dancing and singing in the locker room.

"I was more nervous than they were," said coach Michael Barrett. "I figured they'd be up in the stands eating a snow cone, but I came back into the locker room and they were jumping around. But they knew once that clock started, it was time to focus."

It's early afternoon in Milton, and Rene Castro, a freshman called up to the Wildcat varsity boys' basketball team for the final five games of the regular season, is packing his junior varsity uniform into his bag. His teammates remember to bring their red warm-ups. Castro, the late-game hero of his team's thrilling 70-69 win over Woburn in the EMass Division 2 final at TD Banknorth Garden, doesn't have a warm-up.

The Wildcats, also accompanied by a police escort, depart for Worcester and their game against Hoosac Valley of Cheshire for the Division 2 boys' state crown; they are followed by four packed fan buses and a parade of cars with red and white decorations.

Inside the DCU Center, the Notre Dame girls jump out to a shockingly low 4-0 lead over Millbury after the first quarter. Twin sisters Colleen and Katie Kennedy, who played for the Cougars until 2004, comfort Diane Reilly as she repeatedly falls back into her chair as nerves get the best of her.

"This is the furthest we've ever gone [in the postseason]," said Katie, one of many alums in the crowd. "There isn't one person that's a star, they're all equally talented. It's so awesome to watch."

Perry Veith sits next to the Kennedys. His daughter, Morgan, was a senior captain two years ago. She's in Canada celebrating her birthday with friends. Her dad keeps her updated on the score with text messages.

"It would have been great to have the team make it here a few years ago," said Veith. This team has been "underdogs all the way and people thought they were going to get knocked off, but they just kept going and the support of everyone kept building along the way. There's a good contingent here now."

About 60 members of the Reilly family are here, having seen every tournament game.

They watch as the Cougars stave off a late Millbury run and hold on for a 36-33 win, the program's first state championship.

Kelsey Reilly's older sisters, Courtney (Class of 2000) and Nicollette (Class of 1998), are left wondering what could have been had they made the state final.

Visions of those Dominican beaches became a little clearer.

"It certainly wasn't the goal, but it was extra motivation," Reilly said after the win.

"I hope coaches get to go," joked Barrett.

The Milton boys start to warm up in front of a sea of red and white. The Wildcats easily have the biggest and loudest crowd to this point of the day. Did the crowd emotion propel Milton to a 19-7 lead after one quarter and a 36-22 halftime lead? Or was it the fact that a state title would be the perfect segue to the spring sports season, which was just saved in January by the school's fund-raising efforts?

"We've gone through four or five different fund-raising campaigns with our school and community," said Wildcats coach Sean Lopresti.

"Everyone has contributed, from buying banners to walkathons and raffles. If you lose sports, it would be a huge blow to our school and our community. This gives a great feeling to the community to be able to come out and support a team that was making a run."

Milton's dominating play elicits memories of Lamar Reddicks and Lavar White, who powered the Cats to the 1996 state crown under coach Mike Goodless.

Junior center Emanuel Hutcherson (11 points) throws down a monstrous one-handed dunk in the second quarter and emphatically blocks a breakaway layup by Hoosac Valley in the third.

But Castro, the freshman phenom, receives the biggest ovation when he enters the game midway through the first.

His lone bucket of the game comes with 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter, causing the Milton faithful to chant: "He's a freshman."

The finals seconds tick away in Milton's runaway 81-44 victory, and the Wildcats receive the championship plaque. The players take a victory lap around the floor, celebrating the program's first title since the '96 team. Several players leap into the crowd to rejoice with fellow students. Assistant coach Bill Donovan, a member of the '96 team, kneels on the court trying to hold back tears.

As Donovan leaves the court, he's greeted by White, who rushes out from the crowd to embrace his former teammate. White joins the locker room celebration.

"It's amazing," said White. "Milton is back on the map, bringing back the days when we put Milton on the map."

"I know a former player introduced himself to me, but I don't know who it was," said Lopresti, referring to White. "It was a great moment for the players in the locker room to see an alumni so excited for a Milton team. They probably don't realize it now, but 10 to 15 years from now, they're going to say, 'We won the state championship.' They'll really enjoy that moment."