Player of the Week: Camryn Collins, Foxboro Basketball

Camryn Collins
By HockomockSports.com Staff

Foxboro senior Camryn Collins has been selected as the HockomockSports.com Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, for March 11 through March 17. Collins is the 26th player chosen as Player of the Week for the 2023-24 school year and 13th in the winter season.

Collins, the two-time Hockomock League MVP and Rider University-commit, closed her high school career with a dominant second half performance against Norwell in Saturday night’s Div. 3 state title game at the Tsongas Center. The league’s leading scorer had 19 of her 25 points after the break, pushing a nine-point game to a 23-point win and a second straight state championship for the Warriors.

Foxboro coach Lisa Downs said, “She took over and she wanted the ball. I was calling the plays for her to get it because I could see in her mannerisms that she was going to score. She was a senior out there tonight.”

The Warriors dominated the playoff run, winning the five games by an average margin of nearly 37 points a night. Collins was a standout throughout the run, but took her game to another level in the semifinal and final. She scored 13 of her game-high 20 points in the second half of the Final Four game against defending D3 champ St. Mary’s, sparking a run that led to a 31-point victory. Collins added four steals and four assists at UMass Boston. In Lowell, Collins had six points at halftime, as Norwell used an 11-0 run in the final two minutes to get back within nine points, but she took over in the second half. scoring 19 points and adding four steals to power the Warriors to another big win.

Click here for a recap and photo gallery from the win over St. Mary’s.

Click here for a recap and photo gallery from the win over Norwell in the D3 title game.

The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at 10:00PM. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision.

Camryn Collins
Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Camryn Collins The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision.

Franklin Can’t Match North Second Half Pressure, Falls in D1 Final

Franklin boys basketball Caden Sullivan
Franklin junior Caden Sullivan is fouled going up for a layup in the first half against Worcester North in the D1 state final at the Tsongas Center. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor

LOWELL, Mass. – Two minutes into the second half of Sunday night’s Div. 1 title game at the Tsongas Center, Sean O’Leary drew the North High defense and kicked it out to Andrew O’Neill for a three-pointer from the left wing. Franklin (25-2) pushed its lead to a dozen, the largest lead anyone in the state had managed against the undefeated top seed this season.

The Panthers looked confident and ready to make the program’s third trip to a state title game the one that ended in victory.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Instead, the Polar Bears found another gear. The defensive pressure ramped up to a new level, Franklin was held without a made basket for the first first six minutes of the fourth quarter, and, in front of a raucous, packed house in Lowell, the defending champs came from behind to win 59-53 and retain their crown.

“I give our guys a lot of credit for battling and staying with it but that was a freight train in the second half that unfortunately we weren’t ready to take care of and I feel terrible for the guys,” Franklin coach CJ Neely said. “The toughest, most together group we’ve ever had and a group that I felt deserved a state championship.”

Rebounding was always going to be an issue for the Panthers against North’s athleticism and length. Neely admitted there was only so much that he could do in practice to replicate the ability of North’s 6-foot-6 forwards Joseph Okla (12 points and 12 rebounds) and Teshaun Steele (17 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks), who gave the Polar Bears extra shots on almost every possession.

“We’ve been playing 6-on-5 all week, putting a seventh guy in there sometimes, just because we knew the pressure was coming, we knew we were going to get guys in our face,” he said.

Neely added, “We can do as many rebounding drills as you want to do but when you have two 6-6 guys jumping over the top of you, you can’t simulate that with a bunch of 6-foot, 5-11 guys as tough as they are and as hard as they play.”

That edge on the glass was evident right from the opening tip, but the Panthers were able to match the intensity early to get good looks on the other end. Amir Jenkins (21 points, six rebounds, and six assists) buried a three to start the game and Steele had a put-back to make it 5-0.

Caden Sullivan gave the Panthers a spark with a pair of threes to pull in front. Bradley Herndon (eight points and six assists) got into the lane and finished to put Franklin up 9-7 and, after North went on a 7-0 run, Hansy Jacques (nine points) made a nice feed to O’Neill (eight rebounds) on a backdoor cut to make it 14-11 after one.

Sullivan epitomized Franklin’s lack of fear against a team on a 44-game win streak. He opened the second quarter by taking it to the rim, finishing plus the foul. After O’Leary (five points and three assists) and Jacques both got wide open layups on inbound plays (both assisted by Herndon), Franklin led 22-16.

Jenkins found Steele underneath for a three-point play and Steele got out in transition to throw down a thunderous dunk that got the large contingent of North faithful fired up. Sullivan was able to answer, again finishing through contact at the rim. He scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the first half.

“Caden’s a gamer,” Neely said. “That’s one thing, I don’t think that they played afraid at all tonight, they just got beat. That’s kind of the identity of the team. I know we’re not going to be afraid, I know we’re not going to be scared, and I know we’re going to play with confidence.”

With time running down in the second quarter, Justice Samuels drove into the lane and kicked it out to Jacques, who drilled a three right before the buzzer and the Panthers went into the locker room leading 32-25.

Everyone expected North to turn up the pressure in the second half, so it felt like the Panthers would need to manage the first couple minutes after the break. O’Leary made a nice pass to Sullivan for two, Sullivan sank a pair at the line, and then O’Leary found O’Neill for a three that gave Franklin a 39-27 lead just two minutes into the third.

The Panthers only managed five more made baskets and 14 total points over the remaining 14 minutes of the game.

Okla snatched an offensive rebound and scored and added two free throws, but Jacques got open again on an inbound play for a layup. Okla cut through the Franklin defense for two and Steele made a pair at the line, but again Franklin had a response, as O’Leary hit Samuels for a layup that made it 44-37.

Jenkins grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Steele for a basket and then got one of his three steals and raced ahead for a basket to cut the lead to three heading to the fourth. The North fans sensed that their team was taking control of the game, as Franklin was starting to second guess itself on offense.

“Unfortunately, when we did beat the pressure, we were jut pulling it back out and letting them reset the defense,” Neely explained. “We talked about it in the timeouts, when you beat the pressure, it’s 3-on-2, you’ve got to punish it.”

North piled on the pressure in the fourth, with Jenkins leading the way. He scored 12 points in the frame, banking in a runner to tie the game at 45 apiece and converting at the rim after an Okla steal. He went 4-of-4 at the line in the quarter, pushing the North lead to 54-46.

Franklin had only managed a pair of free throws in the quarter, but with 2:12 to go Sullivan got loose on an inbound play and Herndon found him in the corner for a huge three that made it 54-49. Thirty seconds later, O’Leary managed to free himself on the baseline and scored through contact.

Jenkins made another huge play at the other end, somehow getting between a couple of Panthers and tipping in a miss with 57 seconds on the clock, putting the Polar Bears up five. He added another bucket in the final minute to seal the win, another title, and Franklin’s only loss to in-state opposition this season.

“I think we all saw that we didn’t handle their pressure very well,” Neely concluded. “We didn’t respond the way we have all season. I thought we responded really well to it in the first half, we got a lot of great looks, they amped it up a bit more, they trapped a little bit, they got in that zone press in the second half. They made it really difficult.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Collins Closes Career with MVP Performance in Title Game

Camryn Collins
Foxboro senior Camryn Collins rises up for a shot in the first half of the Division 3 state championship against Norwell. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor

LOWELL, Mass. – Norwell went on a run at the end of the first half of Saturday night’s Div. 3 state title game at the Tsongas Center, pulling within nine points at the break. It was as close as anyone had been to Foxboro at halftime in the postseason and the Clippers fans were sensing an upset brewing, but the Warriors had Camryn Collins and she took the game over in the second half to ensure that her stellar four-year varsity career ended on a high note.

After scoring six points in the first quarter, Collins was held scoreless in the second, but the Rider University-commit and two-time Hockomock League MVP exploded for 19 of her game-high 25 in the second half, helping Foxboro cruise to a 66-43 win and a second straight state championship.

Click here for a photo gallery from Foxboro vs. Norwell.

“She took over and she wanted the ball,” Foxboro coach Lisa Downs said of Collins’ performance in the second half. “I was calling the plays for her to get it because I could see in her mannerisms that she was going to score. She was a senior out there tonight.”

It was a tough shooting first half for the Warriors, who had rolled into the final with four wins by no fewer than 30 points. Collins came out before the third quarter and slowly worked on her shooting form with a series of short jumpers. Then she started the second half by burying the first one that counted and restoring a double-digit lead that Foxboro never relinquished.

She would scored eight points in the third, getting a couple baskets in transition and a couple of jumpers in half-court sets. Foxboro pushed the lead to 17 heading to the fourth.

Collins continued to be aggressive in the final quarter. She sank two at the line then showed off a wicked crossover, shedding her defender, and swishing the pull-up jumper. After stepping into a three from the left wing, Collins snatched an offensive rebound and powered it back in for two more and added one last bucket on the break, finishing with 11 in the fourth.

“In the most humble way, yeah,” Collins said with a smile when she was asked after the game if she picks spots to take over. “I think at some point I know my strengths and my defender’s weaknesses and I just have to attack it. I always end up doing it in the second half, don’t know how that happens.”

This is the end of a remarkable career that began with her debut as a freshman during the Covid-shortened 2021 season. She only got 10 games that year to show flashes of the talent that would lead her to back-to-back league MVPs.

Classmate Erin Foley, who was also a freshman starter that year, noted, “Every single time we got on the court, we were so nervous. Our freshman year there were big expectations with Coach Lisa and as we grew with her and with the older girls taking us under their wings we were just so used to this and we came to play every night.”

“We really evolved as players and our confidence was there every night.”

Foley has been a teammate of Collins since winning fourth grade titles at Mass Premier Courts, so going through four seasons of high school competition and closing out their careers together as champions has added meaning.

“Having Cam on the team means everything because as the clock’s winding down, we have 10 seconds on the shot clock, we hand the ball to her,” Foley said. “We know she’s going to get the job done. Awesome being on the same team as her, I would not want to go against her that’s for sure.”

In addition to her scoring (a league-best 21.9 point per game during the regular season), Collins is also a lockdown defender. She had four steals on Saturday, guarding Norwell junior Maddie Oliver (15 points, including the 1,000th of her career). Despite Oliver’s size advantage, Collins was able to make things difficult for her in the post and challenge shots on the perimeter.

“The standard is always defense and showing effort throughout every quarter,” Collins said. “We might not start off the game making shots, but as long as we stay on defense anything can happen.”

Downs was asked what Collins, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, meant to the Foxboro program and how hard it will be to replace her next year.

“Those are some big, humungous footsteps to fill,” she said. “It’s going to have to be several people stepping into that role because she just brings the athleticism that I’ve never had before. Whether she’s scoring two points, it doesn’t matter really, she just does the intangibles out there that not many coaches can say they have.”

With her teammates back on the Tsongas Center court to greet their friends and families before starting the trip back to Foxboro, Collins was asked to reflect on what it means to be able to spend the final moments of her high school career as a state champion.

“It’s so rare for somebody to have something like this, so I just feel really grateful,” she said. “We worked really hard to get here. I’m really proud.”

Foxboro (24-2) was grateful too. It was an MVP performance from Collins in the second half that turned what might have been an anxiety-riddled 16 minutes into a coronation for one of the best teams in the state.

Click here for a photo gallery from Foxboro vs. Norwell.

Foxboro Sinks Norwell, Wins Second Straight State Title

Foxboro girls basketball
Foxboro celebrates after beating Norwell to clinch the Division 3 state championship, the second consecutive title for the Warriors. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor

LOWELL, Mass. – If there was any worry or anxiety for Foxboro coming out for the second half of Saturday night’s Div. 3 state championship game, the Warriors were doing a good job of hiding it. Norwell closed the first half with an 11-0 run to cut Foxboro’s lead to single digits, but the Warriors stood on the floor at the Tsongas Center smiling and laughing before the third quarter got underway.

The defending D2 champs scored the opening eight points of the second half to restore calm to their fans, pushed the lead to 17 by the end of the third, and ran away with a 66-43 victory.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

The 23-point margin of victory was as close as anyone had come to the Warriors this postseason, capping another dominant year, clinching back-to-back state titles in different divisions, and earning Foxboro its fourth title in the past six full seasons (not including the Covid-shortened 2021 season that had no state tournament).

“Third quarter is always our go-to quarter and I always say that’s the most important quarter of the game because you have to come out with a lot of energy,” Foxboro coach Lisa Downs said. “It’s that time that’s critical where, if a team is down by a little bit, if you can get two or three baskets it really sets them back on their heels and that will translate into a lot of momentum in our direction.”

When asked what the Warriors needed to do to go back-to-back, senior guard Camryn Collins (25 points and four steals) added, “It’s a balance of staying humble and being confident. We had to work hard the past two years and keep building. It was a hard road but I’m really glad that we came out on top.”

Foxboro never got into a rhythm shooting the ball but, while the Warriors are known for scoring a lot of points, defense was in championship form right from the opening tip. Norwell managed just two points, on a pair of free throws from freshman Alex Cassidy, in the opening quarter and trailed 17-2 after eight minutes.

Isabelle Chamberlin (nine rebounds and three blocks) grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to start the game and the Warriors never trailed. Junior center Addie Ruter (17 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks) got the game off to a good start with a short jumper and then she snatched an offensive rebound and hit a turnaround jumper to make it 8-2.

A Ruter block fell to Collins (25 points and four steals), who fired a long pass to Kailey Sullivan (15 points and three assists) for a layup plus a foul. Collins intercepted a pass and raced ahead for two and then got free on an inbounds play with Ava Hill finding her alone under the basket for two more. Ruter capped the quarter with another tough jumper, this time assisted by Adrianna Porazzo.

Cassidy scored, plus a foul, a minute into the second quarter for Norwell’s first made basket of the night, but Ruter answered with a put-back. Erin Foley (seven rebounds and three assists) nailed Foxboro’s first three of the night, then assisted on a triple from Sullivan that put Foxboro up 20. After a Norwell basket, Ruter scored in transition to make it 31-11.

Despite not shooting well, Foxboro seemed in cruise control, but the Clippers responded with a strong final three minutes of the half to make it a game again. Heidi Warren buried a corner three and Maddie Oliver (15 points and eight rebounds) followed with another to get back within 12. Reagan Dowd (12 points and five steals) closed the half with a straightaway three and suddenly the Clippers had life, down just 31-22 at the break.

Foxboro’s two leading scorers, Collins and Sullivan, took it upon themselves to regain control of the game. Collins hit a jumper, then took a Ruter block and assisted on a Sullivan fast break bucket. Sullivan returned the favor with a nice dish to Collins in transition and then the junior point guard drilled her second three of the night to make it 40-22.

Dowd continued to keep Norwell in the game, scoring seven points in the third and cutting the lead back down to 13, but Collins hit another pull-up jumper and freshman Alaysia Drummonds was able to pick out Sullivan with a long pass ahead to put the Warriors up 17 going to the fourth.

In the final quarter, Collins, the two-time Hockomock League MVP and Rider-commit, took over to seal the win. She crossed over her defender and knocked down a jumper and walked into a three that gave Foxboro a 22-point advantage. Ruter added five points in the fourth, using her length to knock down a couple jumpers over the top of Norwell defenders.

“Most teams are going to double in on Addie, which is going to open everything up for our guards,” Downs explained. “Her presence in there, whether she’s scoring or whatever she’s doing, just having a body in there that people are having to focus on all the time took a little pressure off Cam and Sully.”

Oliver, who reached the 1,000-point mark for her career in the fourth quarter, scored six points in the fourth, but Collins was able to grab an offensive rebound and power through contact for two and then got out in transition to cap her night with another finish at the rim.

Foxboro (24-2), which has lost only two games to in-state opponents (both times to Wachusett) in the past two seasons, charged the floor at the final horn, as blue smoke and confetti went off behind its bench.

“Going back-to-back is just awesome,” Foley said. “We had a good feeling from the start of the season that we would be back here and we put in the work each practice. It’s just an awesome feeling. This team was amazing this year.

She added, “It doesn’t feel real right now. The bus ride home is probably when it will hit.”

Earlier this year, Downs mentioned that her team was good, but not yet great. She knew the Warriors had another level, another gear they could call on. With five playoff wins by an average of nearly 37 points per game, Foxboro showed how dominant it could be.

“They just kept getting better and better over the course of the postseason,” Downs said. “Each game, they weren’t paying attention to the score, everything was about getting really, really good. No matter who we faced today, they were ready.”

Asked about her team embracing being one of the best in the state, knowing that they were going to get every team’s best shot, Downs added, “They don’t want to go out there knowing that they’re the far superior team just by showing up on the court, they make sure they’re out there earning it.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.