Carreau does whatever is needed to help Bishop Stang girls basketball succeed

DARTMOUTH — Kate Carreau isn’t going to light up the scoreboard on a nighty basis.

Her job is to do whatever is needed to put Bishop Stang in a position to win.

“Kate works her tail off,” said Bishop Stang head coach Julie Letourneau. “She gets hustle points. She doesn’t always get in the scorebook, but she’s the glue on our team. She’s all about hustle. You can’t score those points in a book.”

Countless times on Thursday night Carreau got back to defend a fastbreak basket by an athletic Cathedral team. She was instrumental in helping Stang handle the Panthers’ full-court pressure as well. She also scored five points, grabbed seven rebounds, had five steals and took a charge on defense.

“She has a complete game,” Letourneau said. “She’s one of the kids you look at and she’s a great mentor for the kids that don’t score 15 or 20 points a game, but the fact that she’s so important for what she does on the floor for us is huge.”

Bishop Stang senior Bridget Markey added, “She’s the biggest hustler on the court. She has a mindset like no other. Kate is the game changer. She does everything for this team. She’s huge.”

ROUNDUPSouthCoast high school scores and highlights from Thursday, Jan. 26

Carreau is making the most of every second on the basketball court.

She was forced to sit out her freshman year with a torn ACL. She saw limited action during a COVID shortened sophomore year. Carreau played a much bigger role last year and is one of the leaders as a senior.

“I’ve definitely had to step up big time throughout my junior and senior years,” she said. “I try to do what’s best for the team like making runs down the court to stop the fastbreak. I try to do anything that helps my team and give 110%.”

Even though the Spartans lost to Cathedral 49-36 on Thursday night, Carreau knows the experience will pay off come playoff time.

“It’s so great playing teams like this because it prepares us,” she said. “It sets a different tone for our team. Going through those kinds of games makes us closer as a team and it helps in the long run.”

MILESTONE MOMENT50th career championship extra sweet for GNB Voc-Tech coach Mark Thornhill

Markey agreed, “Playing a team like Cathedral only benefits us. It only prepares us for the playoffs. It makes us better as a team. When we have good competition like this, the next game becomes easier.”

The Spartans lost by 16 in their first meeting with Cathedral earlier this year. Letourneau said Thursday was a much better game.

“I thought they competed so well,” she said. “We had already played them once this year. They won that one and we didn’t handle the pressure well at all. Tonight I thought we handled the pressure well. It’s just in the second half, we missed our shots and they made their shots.”

POLLVote for the Standard-Times Girls Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 16-22

Stang trailed by just one at halftime, but the Panthers outscored the Spartans 25-13 in the second half.

“We were in it, but we couldn’t hit our shots in the end,” Letourneau said. “We got tired. They play at an insane pace. He’s got some depth on his bench.

“This is the type of game we want to play to get ready for the playoffs. I don’t know who else besides St. Mary’s that will bring that type of athleticism. I’m proud of my girls. I told them I thought they played really hard. You can’t question their effort for tonight.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Cathedral jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first quarter, but the Spartans answered with a 6-0 run sparked by a jumper by Eleanor Senna, an inside basket and pair of free throws by Markey to tie it up at 14 with 5:12 left in the second quarter.

It was back and forth the rest of the first half. A layup by Markey in the final seconds pulled Stang within 24-23 at the intermission.

The Panthers went on a 12-2 run between the third and fourth quarters to go up by double digits and put the game out of reach.

WHAT IT MEANS: With the loss, the Spartans fell to 8-4 and 4-3 in the CCL. They visit Cohasset on Saturday. … Cathedral improves to 10-3.

SOUTHCOASTVARSITY PLAYER OF THE GAME: Markey had 10 of her team-high 16 points in the first half.

LETOURNEAU: “I really think we are coming together. At the beginning of the year we were a little disjointed and we had some new personnel on the team. I think now we’re starting to come together with more chemistry.”

STATS: Bishop Stang shot 24% (12 of 50) from the field and 53% (7 of 13) from the foul line with 21 turnovers. … Cathedral shot 34% (18 of 53) from the floor and 43% (7 of 16) from the foul line with 15 turnovers. … Molly Sisson had a team-high 10 rebounds for Stang while Markey added eight and Senna had six.

Cathedral

Sara Thompson 3 (1), Hijah Allen-Paisley 2, Jasmine Day-Cox 12 (1), Keyona Raines 7, Yedidya Lubunga 13 (2), Malani Smith 8 (2), Leilani Benson 2, Sabina Kaba 2.

Bishop Stang

Bridget Markey 16 (2), Kate Carreau 5 (1), Eleanor Senna 8 (1), Molly Sisson 5 (1), Kendyl Riedl 2.

Cathedral;14;10;14;11 — 49

Bishop Stang;12;11;7;6 — 36

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Bishop Stang girls basketball loses to Cathedral