WORCESTER – The South High girls’ basketball team struggled to score early during their preseason scrimmage against Quabbin Regional on Saturday. It took the Colonels nearly three minutes into the game before they were able to put their first point on the board from the free throw line. First year head coach Diago McClain called a timeout. He looked to light a fire under his team.

“You gotta have heart out there,” he said. “All you gotta do is find that heartbeat. We need someone on this bench to spark the team. We shouldn’t have to yell at you to compete. There’s going to be games where you’re off. There’s going to be games where not making shots. But you cannot take games off competing.”

The team responded with a 63-19 rout of Quabbin the rest of the way as a sense of excitement is brewing around the team these days. “You know they’re excited,” McClain said after the scrimmage. “They haven’t played in a while. As you can see, they’re just running around … I think it’s a lot of nerves, but once we get that out, we should be fine.”

McClain said the team picked up their defense in the second quarter, which helped settle them down. The increased pressure also caused numerous Quabbin turnovers, which led to several fastbreak scoring opportunities. “We just gotta have that energy,” he said. “They did all right for the first time being out there, but we are still at seventy percent. We need to get it up higher, but we’ll be alright. We’ll get there.” 

The Colonels finished 4-16 the last time they played a full winter season two years ago. Last season all together was canceled due to the pandemic, but with the

Tamia Nunes

hiring of McClain and a new coaching staff, along with an infusion of new talent, South High School could make some noise in the Inner-High Conference this winter.

The Colonels are led by four senior captains, Grace O’Gara, Tamia Nunes, Janiya Hampton Hutchins, and Faith Jackson. They are eager for the upcoming season.

“I guess we’re just excited to play basketball again,” O’Gara said. “We had a year off so that kind of hurt some of us, especially ‘cause we’re all seniors. But now that we even get to play this year, and especially with each other, that’s a big thing.” 

Janiya Hampton Hutchins

O’Gara is the big standout player for the Colonel’s. She is a talented 5-foot-5-inch point guard who is only 114 points away from scoring one thousand points for her career. However, there are no individuals on this team.

“We have to play together as a team to win,” O’Gara said. “I feel like when you have good chemistry inside and outside of basketball, it just comes naturally to play well when together.”

Nunes agreed and said playing together as a unit is the number one strength of the team. “I feel if we stay healthy and just play as a team and just stay together, we’re going to do well.”

Jackson and Hutchins, are the only returning upperclassmen from two years ago. They are also thrilled with the new coaching staff and to have a chance to win this season after losing sixteen games two years ago.

“I like how they coach us to be better, but if you make mistakes, they always try to help us,” Hutchins said. 

“I agree,” Jackson said. “If we make a mistake, they help us learn from our mistakes overall. They just help us work as a team.” 

Along with McClain, Sam O’Gara, Grace’s older sister, is the varsity assistant coach and the head JV coach, and Mary Nugent serves as the freshmen coach. They are

Faith Jackson

all in their first year at South High. 

The goal of the coaching staff is to change the culture of basketball at South High School. The new staff has created a buzz with more than fifty students trying out for the team.

“The excitement we’re going to bring here is a new culture of girls basketball,” McClain said. “It’s going to change for the better, so that’s my job. Like I tell all my girls when they play, I want you to make one little girl in the crowd, say, ‘wow! I want to be like her,’ you know?”

McClain also encourages his team to get involved with coaching local youth programs in the city as a way to gain valuable community service time, as well as serving as positive role models for younger kids. “It’s about giving back,” he said. “They have an opportunity to be mentors to younger kids. That’s important for us.” 

Both Grace O’Gara and Nunes are coming into the season after playing together since fifth grade. They were both coached by McClain at Holy Name High School in Worcester, where he served as an assistant coach. They decided to follow the coaching staff from Holy Name to South High.

Coach McClain

Since both players are very familiar with each other, the coaching staff has dubbed them “the perfect dynamic duo.” Sam O’Gara said they have the “ability to play together and read each other” making them nearly “unstoppable.” Nunes is a 5-foot-8 guard with the ability to score from the outside as well as in the post. She compliments Grace O’Gara’s ability to move with the ball, to pass, to score, and to defend.

South also has a lot of depth on their squad. Junior guard Arianna Gonzalez is a very “calm” player on the floor. “She doesn’t let anything phase her,” said Sam O’Gara. “She can take control if things aren’t going well but what makes her special is her ability to hit from behind the arc.”

The sophomore class is filled with solid defenders, as well as offensive players. “Guard Jaiyla Colon is known for her ability to defend,” O’Gara said. “Jaiyla is an unreal athlete and a tenacious defender. It is very rare to see a girl that can dribble by her. I believe her defense is going to play a big role for us this year.” 

Sophomore guard Naima Bleou, who is a 5-foot-7 guard, can score anywhere on the court. “She has the moves to break down her defender,” O’Gara said.

There are also talented freshmen on the team. “Jaizzy Santiago and Bryan Bascones are the two youngest on the team but do not take their skills for granted.

Jaizzy Santiago

Jaizzy’s ball handling skills are off the charts and Bryan’s ability to score off a rebound is special. These are two girls who will play a huge role for us in the future.” Jaizzy, in particular, provided a huge spark off the bench during the recent scrimmage, pumping her team with a lot of energy on the floor.

McClain said the ultimate goal is not to just win this season. He wants the program to thrive and sustain excellence for years to come. “We got four sophomores and two true freshmen,” he said. “So, we’ll be fine for a long time. We also have a good JV program and we got some hidden talent in there. The thing I noticed from this program in the past is that no one really advocated for girls’ basketball. It wasn’t a great program, but we look to change that.”

The Colonel play their first game of the season at St. Paul’s on Thursday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m.