“I think it’s one of her secret weapons. She has a lot of secret weapons.’’
If a Millbury player was going to take the Tigers off the dribble, the scout team ran the play. If another player was prone to turning in toward the basket for a shot, McNeice would imitate the move.
A well-prepared OA squad, led by Lauren Battista, the state’s player of the year, rolled to a 50-31 win, the program’s second state title in five seasons.
“It has always been about the details and the little things,’’ said Clement-Holbrook, a Dedham native in her 37th season directing the Tigers.
She has been using a scout team for game prep since the early 1980s, one of the ideas she borrowed from her longtime coaching friends: Barbara Stevens (Bentley), her former classmate at Bridgewater State, along with Kathy Delaney-Smith (Harvard), and Judy Blinstrub (Babson).
“When we scout, what we try to do is teach our team,’’ said Clement-Holbrook. “We make a scout team so they know the offensive sets that [teams] run, they know the defensive sets, so we can actually see it at practice. Then we’re comfortable to make those adjustments [during the game].’’
Making those small adjustments have paid off big for the Tigers, who clinched the Hockomock’s Davenport division with a 54-37 win at Stoughton Tuesday night.
Oliver Ames is lacking in talent, but a number of the players understand what it takes to succeed by having played with the seniors from the 2010 title team. And they have seen firsthand how powerful team chemistry can be.
“It’s not all about the individual or who has what skill, it’s about how we all play together on the court, and our chemistry as a team,’’ said McNeice.
Seven current players were on the roster in 2010, but last year, they discovered the challenge of repeating minus Battista, now a sophomore at Bentley.
They view last year’s 17-6 season as an important piece in the development of this year’s squad.
