'One' path to victory

Division 1 champs stuck with a routine that worked

Central Catholic girls celebrate their win. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

WORCESTER - It began with the silent bus ride.

En route to each away game this season, not one word was uttered by a single Central Catholic girls basketball player - a rule imposed years ago and never questioned by each new batch of players.

Last Saturday's bus ride was the same, as the Raiders sat in silence for the hour or so it took to get from the Lawrence school's parking lot to the DCU Center in Worcester, site of the state high school basketball championship finals. Considering they were on their way to their biggest game of the year, no one dared to change the routine that got them there.

"It's weird, we know," said point guard Gabie Polce. "I don't think I've ever heard a team actually having a rule that there's no talking allowed on the bus. We have silent bus rides as a rule to get us focused on the game. We're really superstitious, so we do everything the same every time."

Call it superstition. Call it routine. It's part of the game-day preparations that played a key role in getting the Raiders to the top of the Division 1 girls basketball mountain, where they now stand as the newly crowned D-1 state champion.

The Raiders made history as they became the first Central Catholic girls' team to bring home a state title, beating Central Mass. champion Shepherd Hill, 67-62. The win came one year after the Central Catholic boys achieved the feat, and two years after the girls made it to the state finals and lost to Springfield Central.

Coming off an impressive 75-45 win over Brockton in the state semifinals, Central Catholic was favored to land the crown. The fact that Shepherd Hill hung around for the entire game - which came down to a few key plays in the final minutes - made this win that much sweeter.

"All year, our theme has been 'One,' " said Central head coach Sue Downer. "We played one minute at a time, one possession at a time, one game at a time. We wanted to be the one team that would be the first to win a state championship."

One.

When the team arrived at the DCU Center, they stepped off the bus as one unit with one focus. When they sat in the upper-balcony seats, waiting to be let into their locker room, they thought of one thing: what it would be like to raise that championship plaque, perhaps marking the start of a new tradition for the 13-year-old program.

Before visions of center-court celebrations became a reality, though, the Raiders had to go through the motions. They had to heed the same rules they had relied upon all year. They had to carry their bags - red Nike duffel bags, with CC embroidered near the zipper - into the locker room, setting them down in the same places as always.

This was their comfort-zone, where they each settled in next to the same teammate, in the same order as they'd done all year. It was also where the excitement and nerves built up during the bus ride was let out through singing, laughing, and even running a couple quick laps down the aisles.

Polce, a 5-foot-7 sophomore point guard, and 6-foot-3 junior center Katie Zenevitch sat side-by-side, the two giggling and sharing a set of headphones connected to the same iPod, while senior forward Gia O'Connor held a brown paper bag and feasted on heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter.

The girls were loud, energetic, and showed no signs of nerves. They were loose, joking and laughing as their parents and schoolmates sat anxious in the stands, some too nervous to even speak with each other.

"I can't. I can't even think or talk about anything right now," said Janice Zenevitch, Katie's mother, before the game.

"We're all sitting here, just waiting, and we're so nervous right now. I can't believe we're here."

Janice Zenevitch, who sat in the same seat last winter when her son Jimmy played in the finals, made the trip from Methuen with Katie's father, Jim. Jimmy, his face painted red and blue, joined his peers in the Central Catholic student section.

The Zenevitches sat next to the O'Connors, of Dracut, and the Polces, from Chelmsford, all six parents continuing a tradition of their own by sitting in the same order as they did a year before.

It was almost show time for the Raiders.

Midway through the fourth quarter of the Division 2 boys final between Milton High and Hoosac Valley, which preceded the D-1 girls final, Downer reentered the Raiders' locker room. North Andover's Melissa Miller and Methuen's Ashley Evangelista hopped off the bench they were standing on, dancing to the rap music blaring over the speaker.

Downer, who perhaps endured the most emotional ups and downs of anyone this year, talked about the game plan, about defensive coverage, and of being one game away from achieving a goal set more than three months ago on the first day of practice.

"Here we are. The captains and coaches went to breakfast here yesterday and they reminded us of what we set out to do," said Downer. "This all started on December 1. If we relax, play our game, we will walk out of here as Division 1 champions."

The team huddled in the center of the locker room, hands in the center of the circle, and yelled, "One, two, three, Dad!" "Dad" was Downer's father, who died before the season and to whom the Raiders' campaign was dedicated.

Downer then ink-stamped each player's hand with the word "One," and ushered them onto the court. Polce kicked things off by singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" - something she'd done at all but one home game.

Then, for four quarters the Raiders battled Shepherd Hill as the Fighting Rams lived up to their name, holding the lead until Central regained it with 3 minutes left.

With less than 20 seconds before the final whistle, Evangelista sent Central fans into a frenzy, stealing the ball and running in for a layup and a 5-point lead.

Zenevitch sealed the win when she sank two free throws with 7.7 seconds left.

And, Raiders fans hope, a new tradition was born.

"We are so superstitious - we did everything the same way before every game," said Boston College-bound Zenevitch. "I can't imagine a better ending to this season, to this day. I'll never, ever forget this moment."