PEABODY — The Crusaders are off to a great start to the season winning five of their first six games. But head coach Adam DeBaggis believed this was how his team was going to start the year. 

“The season is going very much how I thought it would be going. There haven’t been a lot of surprises,” DeBaggis said. 

Last year the Crusaders reached the final of the state championship and have added more firepower to the team via transfers Samantha Dormer and Isabella Lopez-Marin. 

“We have a couple of transfers that I didn’t know too much about. I knew they were good, but I didn’t know much about them,” DeBaggis said. “They’re just great kids though. It’s sometimes scary to get transfers and try to fit them in with the group if their attitude isn’t great. That’s not how this is going though, they have been great additions.” 

The Crusaders have size and depth that makes it hard to slow them down. DeBaggis wants his side to keep improving and realize its potential of being one of the best teams in Massachusetts. 

“The main focus is always to improve and be the best team you can possibly be in the end. To me that’s success,” DeBaggis said. “We just want to prove that we are one of the best teams in the state. We just won the tournament a few days ago which had a few heavy-hitting division two teams. We are a division two team so we can come out of that knowing we are one of the top dogs in that division.” 

In that tournament, Bishop Fenwick beat Walpole 56-45 to win the Rivard Tournament. 

“In our last game against Walpole, our team was playing with a different level of effort. This game was a refusal to lose type of attitude,” DeBaggis said. “We haven’t been passing as well as I would like, and in that game, we were really moving the ball and trusting our teammates. We can defend against any team in the state, but if we can’t pass well and get the right shots we’re not going to win games.” 

Cecilia Kay was named tournament MVP. This season, Kay is averaging 20.5 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. 

Despite the impressive numbers, DeBaggis has been impressed with Kay’s leadership. 

“She motivates her other teammates through action and words. Our other two captains are very motivational in action, but it’s really Cecilia who is the vocal leader. She challenges her teammates to be better,” DeBaggis said. “She was a captain too but as a junior, I think she was hesitant to challenge people because of the senior leaders we had at the time. This year she isn’t holding back on the vocal side of leading.” 

Kay’s frontcourt teammate Caitlin Boyle is also off to a strong start this season averaging  9.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. 

DeBaggis believes having Kay practice and work with Boyle, her development has improved significantly. 

“Their games are very similar. They both can post, shoot, and handle the ball. For Caitlin to have Cecilia as a mentor is just unbelievable. A person that looks like her and does all the things she can do, I don’t know if her development would have been what it is now. She would have been fine either way, but having a player like Cecila there too definitely bolsters the growth,” DeBaggis said. “They work really well together. They read each other’s movements without talking, it’s really interesting. They have a sister-type relationship, but the mentorship of Cecilia for Caitlin is great.” 

Another player taking a leap according to DeBaggis is Celia Neilson, who is averaging  8.7 points, 3.8 assists, and 4.0 steals per game. 

“Celia Neilson as a sophomore has been fantastic in all phases of the game. She’s a smart player, she can shoot, rebound, steal, pass, she can do everything,”  DeBaggis said. “She’s hard to guard and she’s tough when she’s guarding someone. She’s becoming more mature on the court with her voice which has been the biggest change.” 

Although serious ballers on the court, DeBaggis said this group is fun to be around and they’re always making each other laugh. 

“They’re funny. Outside of basketball, they make me laugh and each other laugh,”  DeBaggis said. “They don’t need many “kicks to the butt” to work hard. They have a great personality as a group and they work really hard.” 

Bishop Fenwick’s next game is at home on Friday against Cardinal Spellman with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m.