Medford High School girls basketball rearing for a fight

By Mike Corrado | Sports Correspondent

As the dog days of summer drag on, the Medford High School’s girls basketball program has been hard at work preparing for their upcoming GBL campaign.

Over the past month, the team has showcased their skills across numerous summer league games against other local high schools in preparation for regular season action. 

Most recently, Head Coach Dom DeLuca’s squad dominated Mystic Valley to the tune of a 49-21 battering on July 23, though Class of 2025 graduate Ava Lavoie held the reins for the contest in question.

Following a season that saw the Mustangs enter the MIAA Division I State Tournament with a 12-8 record and subsequently fall to New Bedford in their preliminary round matchup, Medford’s girls are determined to right the ship this season and bring some hardware up Steve Miller Drive. 

“We’ve got a great group of girls that really want to play,” DeLuca said postgame. “They play tough, they love to compete, and we’re very determined to make some noise in the state tournament games.” 

Having to lose one starter is difficult at any point, but losing two of your key contributors to graduation in one summer is a difficult mountain to climb. Both Ava Lavoie and Kaileigh Dixon were in essence the cogs that kept the machine turning during the 24-25 season.

“Kai and Ava led us, and Kai was the offensive engine almost every night,” remarked Assistant Coach Vikram Bhamra. 

With two group leaders out of the picture, the floor is wide open for any members of DeLuca’s squad to step up. Rising senior Joy Riccoli has been making her case in preseason both on and off the court, dictating a winning mentality for her teammates to feed off of.

Riccoli eagerly mentioned, “I want to get us to states. We made it really close last year, but this year I really want to win a states game for the first time.”

Alongside her sister Kat, a rising freshman, “The JK Connection” as coined by Coach Bhamra are poised to provide a dynamic form of offense with an added bit of chemistry. The duo were responsible for nearly 40 of their side’s 49 points in some way, shape or form in their recent battle against the Eagles. 

Complementary to the Riccoli sisters, rising junior Lia Marino is slated to be both a leader and a featured part of a five-pronged offensive attack. 

“My goal for us this year is to be GBL champs,” she said. “The past two years we’ve been really close and just missed it, and this year with the group of girls we have it’s definitely obtainable.”

Thankfully there are about 14 members of the previous season’s varsity squad remaining with the team through at least this school year, giving the coaching staff the benefit of both experience and depth during what is a transitional period. 

Bhamra’s pride shone through in regard to the work his team had already begun to put in going into this upcoming season in saying.

“There’s been a lot of noticeable improvement already,” he said. “Our transition game as a whole wasn’t where I wanted it to be at the end of last season, and this summer it’s been a focal point of our success thanks to their work.”

Alongside Bhamra and DeLuca, Assistant Coach Peter Stefanopoulos joined the staff earlier this offseason after making the switch from the boys team. 

“These other girls are looking at me and thinking, ‘we’ve been coached by different people for eight years, who are you?’ but I’m just trying to ease my way into it and figure everyone out,” Stefanopoulos said.

He continued, “The girls are much more thoughtful though, much more caring towards each other than my group of guys. Oh, they listen way better too!” 

When it came to listening, each of the three coaches were firmly in agreement that their squad of girls are second to none at following and executing a plan. 

With that in mind the Mustangs will aim to listen closely to consistency, as they had at the beginning of last year’s regular season campaign. 

“We got blown out of the water in the second half of the year,” DeLuca said bluntly. 

The girls' team had started the season 6-0, before going 4-5 — including a four-game losing skid — over their next nine games. Massive road wins against Everett and Lowell Catholic High School saved their season at the death, though the plan this year is to have some semblance of security entering tournament season. 

“We are determined to compete though and hopefully come away with a win at the state tournament,” DeLuca said. 

It’s clear that this squad is a group that’s truly proud of each other, and their overall passion for success and basketball in general is beyond evident.

Medford’s first scheduled GBL contest sees the Mustangs traveling to Lynn English High School to take on the Bulldogs on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m., where they can hopefully get off on the right laced foot.