MARSHFIELD – Head coach Jack Whalen will have some challenges to overcome to equal the success he’s had in his first two seasons leading the Twinfield-Cabot girls basketball program.
Whalen has been an instant hit rejuvenating the energy in the Lady Trojan program, injecting his own relentless energy and positivity in his first two seasons. Under his leadership, Twinfield-Cabot has hosted and won a home playoff game in back to back seasons. After two straight years of graduating core senior classes that contributed to the rebuild, reality is setting in this season for Whalen as he tries to sustain success at a small school. Numbers are down this season for the Lady Trojans. They are currently only practicing with eight players as they ready for the season and will not have enough players to field a junior varsity team.
“Numbers are not great this year and it is frustrating. Between graduating a large senior class and having a few promising eighth graders relocate, we’ve found ourselves in a place that a lot of small schools are in right now. It effects how you are able to practice and limits what you can work on from a scrimmage standpoint,” said Whalen.
Lost to graduation were Carley Mancini, Jorja Washburn, Kendall Fowler, Haylie North, and Sophia Mancini. That senior core helped lead Twinfield-Cabot to 22 wins the last two seasons, the program’s first playoff wins in nearly six years and a bucket away from reaching the Division IV Final Four. Whalen’s lone senior on the roster this season is Tiegan Trader. He also returns a core of juniors led by returning starter Chloe North. The offense will undoubtedly flow through North this season and will look to get support from fellow juniors Finley Washburn, Sarah Austin and Birtu Lindert-Boyes. Austin was a First Team All-Mountain League selection this past fall on the soccer pitch and the Lady Trojans hope to bring her athleticism to the hardwood. Lindert-Boyes showed flashes of promise in the paint as a sophomore and will give Whalen’s squad some much needed size underneath. Whalen remains positive and excited for the start of the season.
“We played in the round robin scrimmage in Randolph and I was pleased with what I saw in the girls. We were competitive, a little sloppy at times as we got our feet wet but overall, it gave us the opportunity to see what we really need to work on. Every year is different and this season we are going to have to improve together to have success together. We need to also balance the fact that a lot of our offense will go through Chloe without overwhelming her with pressure. A lot of these girls have watched our senior classes excel the past two years and now this is their opportunity to shine. This is their time and they are excited for the opportunity. We realize that if we are going to improve as a team and have success as a team it’s going to have to be as a collective. We are excited to get the season started,” said Whalen.
Twinfield-Cabot will open up the season on the road at Woodstock on Friday and stay on the road for a league match-up against Winooski next Tuesday.
